A City of Strays
by wolfrunnerable12
Summary: Yokohama City, Japan. For the past few years Yokohama has been a fairly peaceful city, well by that it s more like any and all crime has been contained to the city underbelly. But 'peace' is a mere pretty word for a period of ceasefire after all. So it must come to an end at some point. It all started with the return of a group that has not been heard from for quite some time.
1. The King Of The Port Mafia

_"The King of the Sheep!" -unknown Port Mafia Member when Chuya appears outside on the wing of a plane_

_Dazai, Chuya, Fifteen Years Old_

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**I am back after a long haitus! Mostly because I have found my new anime obsession and can stay silent no more lol. This is the first chapter in my Bungo Stray Dogs fanfiction, here is hoping I don't disappoint. Especially with trying to keep everyone in character. So I am going to cut the chatter to get right to the first arc! See you next chapter!~**

It had been what felt like a lifetime ago and one belonging to another person at that. The fact he never once gave his past a second thought or care before adding to the foreign feeling now. He'd climbed up the ladder so far now that the events of his past proved little to no interest other then they happened to the man. And yet...

Blue eyes snapped open. A frown dragging down a face that normally had an air of arrogant cool about it. A tight black gloved fist grasped at his side shaking out of sight behind the desk. A light sweat braking out over the man's face while he stared down at what had held his attention all day. For laid out over the wooden surface was a slew of papers and files bearing a wide verity of information on each, yet each bit of information was also related to the other. A small pile of books sat precariously in one corner of the desk, while yet others lay open strewn about the floor around the desk. Photographs of the organization's members likewise were all layed out. The man knew everyone in the mafia's intelligence group had been working like maniacs since their boss first ordered every detail, no matter how insignificant, to be gathered on this particular matter. While it was normal for the boss to sit back, place his people and be more the brains then a combatant this man wasn't a typical boss. Nor was this a typical case of putting down some gang or rival organization threatening his people and city. Not this time. Not when there was a bagged knife with blood stains on it resting on his desk giving him flashbacks of a past he had tossed off years ago. Or thought he had tossed off years ago once joining the Port Mafia anyway..

"Boss."

The orange haired man looked up as a familiar voice snapped him from his thoughts giving blessed relief. Even if he knew they were only going to be for this moment of holding a conversation. Getting to his feet the man walked over to meet the mafia member half way, "Well? You've got the results for me Higuchi?", he asked coming to a stop in the middle of the room.

"Yes. As you ordered we checked the knife used at this last incident and compared it the knives used during the previous incidents as well. The results of those tests all matched up exactly with each other.", her voice faltered as she offered a small stack of paperwork to her superior. Ichiyo Higuchi. A women who was formerly a Mafioso acting as assistant to one of the mafia's Executives running their guerilla attack force. A diligent loyal member of the organization indeed, yet one whose talents were wasted where she had been. So, when the mafia changed bosses, she was placed where she was better suited. That happened to be as the person responsible for maintaining their intelegence division. It was a good change too. The blonde Mafioso always seemed to function best in covert ops and, as the one running the mafia's intelegence, naturally she was excelling as an invaluable asset to the mafia in this new position.

"And those results were? Don't keep me on the edge of my seat all day.", prompted the man noting the women's clear hesitation as he took the paperwork offered.

"That in every incident the blade was laced with rat poison."

Higuchi collapsed to the ground as the office floor crumbled in on itself as soon as the words left the blonde's mouth. She had no idea why the boss had acted as he had at the news. Surely, if he'd wanted this information specifically like he had, then he'd had some idea of what the results would come to be. Yet there was no mistaking the orange haired man's power. The floor had been blown away by a sudden increase of gravitational force steming from the man now bearing a glow of red energy around his frame. The disappearence of the floor under her feet caused Higuchi to collapse. "S-Sir..."

The floor around him had been crumbled into a circular crater with the exception of a small radius around him. It seemed that his powers effected Higuchi as well though minorally and unintentially. But finding out that the blades used to kill his people were laced with rat poison made the mafia's boss snap. Weather it was just as he had feared or not didn't matter. '_Its no use struggling, I rubbed rat poison on the blade. You'll go numb soon. You won't be able to move.' _He grit his teeth together at the words echoed unwelcomed in his head bringing anger with them. They were so loud in his head, that whole moment so clear, it was like it had just happened again. _'Its only because you're so damn powerful, otherwise we wouldn't have to do it this way!' _Without his ability to get him out of the situation, plus a certain suicidal maniac to handle the organization from there? He very well could have been found and killed once the poison took a firm hold. Likewise his people whose photographs were on his desk would have suffered the same fate. Only none of them were neither Gifted nor had the mafia come to save them so had a very different fate then their boss.

_'This is the smartest thing we could do! Its the only way we can whipe out the Port Mafia!' _"Smart my ass.", said the orange haired man under his breath as his eyes narrowed and body tensed as if for a fight. Turning around the mafia boss headed back towards his desk with footfalls crushing the floor around his feet with each step taken. The red energy glow still outlining his body. Then raising his voice so the women could hear, "Like hell I'm going to let those bastards whipe out the Port Mafia." Taking his hat and tossing his coat over his shoulder, the man took a phone in his free hand. After a moment of holding the communication device to his ear, "It's me. We need to talk."

* * *

"We don't do anything."

All at once every pair of eyes turned to Dazai as he stood from his seat. His fellow members of the agency staring wide eyed at the suicidal maniac in shock...all except one pair. Those of the Presidant were narrowed in knowing suspicion as his partner turned to leave the room. His voice... The way his partner spoke gave Kunikida all the information he needed to know. Though rhyme and reasons maybe unknown to the Gifted, he learned some time ago that was par for the course with his fellow detective. Despite being partners for all this time Dazai was still a mystery to him, and that was never going to change. He'd be a fool to think it ever would too. There wasn't a person on the planet that could ever hope to understand the twisted detective's motives or way of thinking. Forget about actually being able to do so. Of course that didn't mean people weren't going to attempt such a feat...

Atsushi was also on his feet bracing himself against the table as he leaned over it. His eyes locked on his mentor leaving the room. "What!? Are you serious Dazai?!", the silver haired detective spoke up staring at his colleague, "We aren't talking about small time criminals here! Whoever these guys are they killed members of the Port Mafia! You know them better then the rest of us do! Akutagawa will tear them to shreds if we don't step in and do something!" Turning to the agency presidant, "Presidant talk to him!"

"Atsushi. If Dazai knows the Port Mafia as well as he does then you should know Dazai by now. I don't like letting the mafia go unchecked about as much as you do but...", the agency Presidant looked over towards the former mafia member before looking back at the silver haired detective, "...this one isn't our case. It's not as if civilians or other innocents were involved here. It's clear from the victims that whoever is committing these murders are gunning solely for the Port Mafia. Imagine if even one of us were these victims."

The room went silent. After all every member of the agency knew what they'd do if one of them were killed. On the side of the law, technically, or not they'd be little different if at all then the Port Mafia.

"Still if it helps you sleep at night Atsushi then let me say this much.", said Dazai pausing in the doorway to the room to cast a glance over his shoulder at the were-tiger, "Akutagawa isn't going to be the one dealing with these guys. That much I can promise you."

**You know Chuya, Dazai and Kunikida were actually easier to write IC then I thought they would be... Tell me what you all think of my first attempt at a BSD fic! Can not wait to hear from you lovlies! This was longer then expected lol.**


	2. I Would Be The Perfect Accomplice

_"If I'd committed suicide afterward, THEN I would have been the perfect accomplice." - Dazai to Mori while talking about Mori murdering the previous mafia boss and Dazai being the only witness_

_Dazai, Chuya, Fifteen Years Old_

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**So I see that some have taken an interest in this story now...yeah! It means I must be doing something right so far for the start of this fanfiction. Hopefully ai continue to do whatever that is so you all stay into this. It's taking a lot of carefull planning on my part...ugh! But worth it if people are liking it! So, without more wasted time, here is the next chapter! This is a little more on the sweet and short side, but hope you all enjoy it just the same. Let me know!~**

**OH! Figure out my Easter Egg for this arc! Go on! Try it! Just a little fun aside from reading. Though I will say that this particular chapter has two. ~**

Aaand so it started...

Again...

As per usual when the two Gifteds got together...

A derelict at the edge of town, Chuya and Dazai collide violently.

"You know why we're here right?"

"I have an idea."

Chuya quickly closes in on Dazai.

He unleashes a powerful downward kick.

Dazai kicks the ground beneath him, leaping into the air away from Chuya. As he descends, he swings down with the club in his hands.

"Hup!"

Chuya blocks with both hands.

"Agh!"

Dazai lands on the ground.

Immediately, Chuya delivers a storm of punches.

"Then you already know what I'm going to say, don't you?"

"Of course I do. Though this is a very public place for the Boss of the Port Mafia to have a meeting with a lowly Agency member."

Dazai takes a step back.

Chuya hammers him relentlessly with his fists.

"Come on, come on! You're never going to win if you're always on the defensive!"

Dazai grinned, "You never learn. That's too bad for you."

The club emits a destruction beam.

"Waaah hang on a second!"

"K.O.!", came the voice of the game as the large fiery letters appeared on the screen in front of the black-clad Gifted.

"Thats the second time I've beaten you at this game.", said the brunette man with a smug grin on his face, "Don't forget our little bet now. We said whoever looses has to obey the winner's orders, just like a dog obeys it's master. Now what ingenius thing could I have you do?"

The mafia boss grit his teeth in frustration before slamming his fists on the game consol. "Damn it all! I thought for sure I was going to win this time!", Chuya growled in angery frustration getting to his feet to stare over the consol to glare at Dazai on the other side.

Chuckling Dazai reclined slightly back in his stool while raising a hand in a careless waving motion. "You're still the same old Chuya even after all this time. The strength of your ability has been, and apparently always will be, your downfall.", said the agency detective, "In fact its so strong that you've never learned to be cunning or think strategically. Weather it's video games, riddles or war."

"What the hell?! You know I've never done riddles before, let alone solved one!", the orange haired man shouted. He didn't care if he was drawing attention from others at the arcade. All that mattered was his little second nature spat with the detective in front of him. When realization dawned on him, however, Chuya backed off as a grim shadow crossed his face. Narrowing his eyes the Gifted turned his attention to the arcade enterance not that far away from where him and the other Gifted were seated at the moment. His body growing tense as he zeroed in focusing on the enterance. Still gloved hand tightening into a fist digging into the control board of the consol he was leaning on. It was a wonder the game wasn't crushed in yet, though the man was doing his best to control the amount of pressure he was putting on it. But nothing happened. There was no need to tell Dazai to shut up and then proceed to duck behind the machines trying to conceal himself today. Not when nobody walked in standing in the enterance to look around for him. No familiar heads of spiky white and long pink stepped into the arcade this time around.

The change in his companion wasn't lost on the detective either. He rarely missed a detail in anything, let alone in his former partner whom he knew all to well. He'd remembered what happened about this time all those years ago as well and paused himself. Still nothing happened. Not that either man could claim they had honestly expected something to though. "Are you sure it's them?", asked Dazai in a calm monotone, "It's been years since anything about them has surfaced, for all we know they could have left Yokohama or even died. They could even have assumed you died from your wound and given up. There's really no guarantee that they're the ones killing members of the organization whe-"

"It's them unless you all went ahead and killed them anyway back then.", came the sharp reply cutting across the dark haired man's sentence. Chuya loosened his grip easing back somewhat while still remaining alert just in case. "I know it's them. There's no mistake about that when the blades used to kill their victims were laced with rat poison. I had Higuchi run tests on and compare all of the weapons we managed to recover from each scene and each had traces of the stuff on them.", turning his attention downwards at his companion, "Plus I've only ever seen one person with the style of knife used at each murder. Both those facts act like calling cards. It's Sheep...no doubt about it." Taking a breath the boss had a seat back on the gaming stool sticking his hands in his pockets. Chuya never thought he would hear, let alone utter, that name again but yet it left his lips just the same. The very first organization he had ever joined and biggest mistake he had ever made in his life. He should have never trusted the rag tag group of delinquents and payed for it. Even though their betrayal taught him a valuable lesson he'd never forgotten there was now this mess to clean up as a result. He should have let the then Executive kill them along with their new bodyguards when the opportunity was there. But Chuya was soft as a teenager. Somehow he saw the gang of teens as still a group he held loyalty too and agreed to join the mafia if they were spared.

The Agency member shook his head, "Nope we spared them just like I said we would. A suicide advocate always keeps his word after all and I had the feeling Mori would be upset if I couldn't get you to join us. Really didn't want to do that to my new boss and deal with the consequences." Silence fell between the old partners for what felt like several long minutes before Dazai got up from his seat.

The suicide maniac's fellow looking up at him for a second with brown meeting blue. Though it was more of a short second as he mirrored the man's movements getting to his feet too. Then, just like that without another word, Dazai turned heading out of the arcade. Chuya following suit catching up to him in no time falling into step beside the darker haired man. Both former Port Mafia Executives leaving the gaming establishment silently focused ahead side by side.


	3. What A Child

_"What a child." -Dazai about Chuya after handling a small group of GSS Soldiers_

_God of Fire_

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**In case you are** **all wondering...yes this first arc is going to be Soukoku heavy/centric just to set the stage for things to come in the future. Chūya will still be an active participant as will Dazai, but they will be more side characters then the main focus like they are now for this arc. Just a note that I hope doesn't turn anybody reading off of this. Please say that I have nothing to worry about in that department! Anyway here is the next chapter my lovelies! Hope you enjoy and can not wait to hear from all of you!~**

It wasn't fair.

It just wasn't fair!

The young teen stared down at the grave she was standing over with narrowed eyes. Hands clenched into fists resting in her pockets trying to keep her emotions in check and just bearly managing to. It wasn't working. The fury was still visible just by glancing at her face and in her body language. Despite not knowing personally who the deceased these graves belonged to were, the orange haired teen had made this a ritual. Visiting these headstones to pay her respects to those who'd been murdered in cold blood. Yes. Things such as death, murder, torture and violence in general were the currencies of the Port Mafia which the teen knew all too well. Yet, despite that knowledge and the lack of personal involvement with the victims, the copper haired fifteen year old still felt connected to each victim that had been identified. After all they were all mafia. They were nothing more then one of the numerous foot soldiers and occasional Mafioso yet the girl felt for them. Rank and role didn't matter to her. The Port Mafia was her family as well as all it's members. Everyone from those which were more rank and file to the five Executives. The grave she was currently visiting belonged to the latest assassination victim...targeted for no other reason then being a member of the mafia like several others had been. Yet the Boss refused, totally and utterly refused, to allow her to join the organization! So much so that it wouldn't surprise her if she asked only to end up pulverized on the ground floor of headquarters from the top floor office next time. It wasn't like the orange haired teen was asking for special treatment or a high position! Because that was the last thing on the teen's mind! She wasn't asking for personal glory or out of boredom either! The copper haired girl wanted to join the organization because she believed she could help do some good. No strike that...it was more like the teen knew she could do some good if she joined the organization. Why couldn't the Boss see that!?

Frustrated the fifteen year old dug her teeth into her lip standing there staring at the headstone before her. Irritated the teen reached into her pocket fishing around until fingers closed around the object she'd been looking for. That object was a sleek black cell phone with a red reinstone encrusted backside. Was the device not her? Yes. The portable phone was much more gaudy then the copper haired teen would like, but yet it was a gift. It was a gift she'd gotten two years ago from that insane blood-sucking psychopath. The insane blood-sucking psychopath whose number was at the very top of her contact...whose number she pressed before holding the phone to her ear holding her breath. The plea the female Mafioso would pick up not esacping her lips but repeating over and over in the girl's head. _"Hi!" _The girl opened her mouth to speak only to shut it immedietly as her lips formed a tight line. _"If you're my Yuki then go ahead and leave a message at the beep! If not, I'd hang up right now unless you want something really really bad to happen to you! Have a good day! Hehe!" _And the phone cut off with a beep to signal it was alright for the girl to leave a message. That...wasn't good. While the sensation of fear bubbled up unwelcomed in the pit of her stomach. the young teen exited the call without leaving a message to go back to her contact list. Selecting the second top listed number on the list this time the ring tone stopped indicating it was picked up. "Boss?", the copper haired teen asked almost hesitantly into the phone at her ear.

_"Chibi? I thought I told you this morning I'd be busy all day and not to call me unless it's an emergency.", _there was a healthy pause before the voice added in a annoyed sigh of a tone, _"So out with it. What unholy mess did you get yourself into this time? Please don't tell me you pissed off the head of another one of our front companies."_

The copper haired teen felt her eye twitch at the implications the voice on the other line was making about the situation. "One. Time.", she breathed out through her teeth.

_"You're right...one time for one of our front organizations. The other you nearly caused another war with the Guild by challenging, of all people, Fitzgerald. Remind me how many times have I told you how close they came to destroying Yokohama with that damn whale?"_

He just had to bring up that incident didn't he? Of course the man did! The girl rolled her blue eyes and made a motion with her hand copying someone talking. She had heard his spiel before too more then once, yet it never ceased to annoy the daylights out of her. Neither did it do anything to stop or prevent similar situations from creeping up on the young problem-magnet either. "Yes Boss, I get it. But, if we did go to war with them again then Akutagawa'll just tear them to shreds and problem solved. Not that someone like that crazy bastard from the west could defeat you Boss.", she replied making her way down the city streets, "Besides we destroyed that flying fish and the guy whose ability it was is dead right? Plus you know that guy is a total prick but won't admit it for deplomacy reasons. A mafioso doesn't have to be diplomatic though." Nimbly the young girl dodged around the pedestrians going about their typical morning routines as she continued to talk to the man on the other line. The copper haired teen's eyes darted around the waking city as she carried on the coversation keeping an eye out. Not that she expected something to happen but you never did know what you were going to run into in a day. If growing up around her family taught her anything over the years it was always watch your backside. A lesson which the copper haired teen always kept in heart and mind. Her back was far too valuable to not keep a eye on or watch where her feet stepped at all times.

_"We talked about this. Weather the guy is a prick or not doesn't matter and it's not for you to decide that. You're not a Mafioso Chibi.__" _A frustrated sigh trying to stay calm on the other end later and the man was about to talk again when out of the blue, _"Hey you idiot! What the hell are you doing!? Give me back that ph-!"_

_"-Hi Yuki! I doubt that you remember me bu-"_

The teen,Yuki, raised an eyebrow hearing...whatever...was going on on the other end of the line. One minute she was hearing a male voice she didn't recall hearing ever yet claimed to know her, the next minute there was a sudden noise. It was like someone had just had the air knocked out of them collapsing. That was followed immedietly by the sound of the communication device following suit hitting the ground. Though this was short lived, as voices once again came over the phone loud enough to indicate it had been reclaimed from the ground.

_"When I say give me back the phone I mean it! I'm not going to have you corrupt the kid when she's enough of a pain in the ass as it is!"_

_"Ouch! Chūya You know that wasn't very nice. All I wanted to do was talk to Yuki to see if she liked playing video games. You didn't have to try and be so scary. If anybody is going to 'corrupt' the poor girl it's gonna be you."_

Despite being decidedly muffled this time around, the unmistakable sound of a body hitting the ground could still be heard in the background. The teen felt a drop of sweat run down the side of her face. Just what for the love of all things good was going on? Clearly something was going on but what was the question. The blue eyed girl honestly wasn't even sure she wanted to find out that answer or not. Whatever was going on it sounded as though the one she had been speaking to had some company...a man whose voice she didn't recognize. What was even more attention catching was the fact this new voice had called her Yuki. Yuki was a name only a handfull of people addressed her by so why'd this new voice use it?

_"Shut up Dazai and be glad I was going easy on you!"_

Dazai? Was that the name of whoever the man was keeping for company? Duh of course it was or he'd never addressed the other voice by that name. The young teen was sure she had never met anybody by that name before, and yet she couldn't help but let her mind wonder. It was vaguely familiar...like really vaguely as though it had been heard in passing. She rolled her eyes shaking her head in exasperation at the antics coming through the phone line. Whatever was going on over there the girl had no time to concern herself with it. At least not at this moment she didn't. Not when there was a more pressing matter she had to see to then some unknown person knowing and using the easier version of her name. Taking a breath deciding to try and redirect the coversation back on track again, "Uh Boss? Am I interupting something? I didn't mean to call in the middle of a meeting, but I haven't so much as heard HER all day." The copper haired girl let her mind temporarily drift as a head of long midnight black hair in a pair of ponytails took over her mental vision. A grin not unlike the one someone would expect from a psychopathic legally insane murderer to wear following suit before her eyes making her breath hitch sharply. It wasn't right. There was no way to properly guess what was going on here but something wasn't right here. The teen didn't really know how to explain other then she just knew something was going on. The girl's gut tightened and her chest ached when she thought about that psychotic grin. "You...didn't happen to send her on a job or anything right? She would have sa-"

_"-You really do care about her."_

The female teen paused as blue eyes widened to saucers as her hand gripped at the phone tighter. Though the man couldn't see it through the phone, luckily, heat flushed her cheeks staining them a warm pink in color. Heart beat growing erratic against the inside wall of her chest and refused to calm down despite the new stream of self-talk the girl was walking herself through at that very moment. Her voice raising an octave or two, "Care about her? Riiiiiiiight. As if, honestly I couldn't care less about her if I wanted to and would be thrilled if she would get in the line of enemy fire and die. Shes the wildest wildcard the organization has." Was the man on the other line seriously implying that Yuki had any sort of feelings or connection to who she was thinking about? Surely not considering he knew better then to assume that. The very idea was complete nonsense. Completely utterly ridiculous if you asked the copper haired teen. Of the entire organization that was the only member whom the girl wouldn't mind if she were to become a victim of these recent serial murders. And yet... The teen lowered her hand holding the cell phone from her ear so that she could get a good look at the portable communication device in her hand. And yet that crazy legally insane psychopath hadn't contacted her at all today for some reason. For as mind meltingly irritating as it was to have to bear a entire conversation with the dark haired member of the group, the girl never missed a call. It didn't matter when in the day her hone rang. If, well more like when, it rang the concerned girl picked it up only to hear the giddy childish other female over the line checking in. Always alternating between annoying teasing and going over every detail of her latest job the boss assigned her. Jobs that always ended up as gruesome success stories for the child on the other end of the phone line. "Why haven't you called yet...?", the young teen said under her breath thinking about what could possibly explain this not normal occurrence, "Damn it! You better be alright or so help me-" The building she'd been walking past erupted into a raging ball of an inferno before the teen could so much as notice that something was up.

_"What was that!? That better had not been an explosion and people screaming. What the hell is going on over there Chibi!? What did you do!?" _The man on the other line of the phone didn't recieve a response, but how would he? Especially when the communication device was giving the signal that it had gone dead after being crushed buried beneath a pile of dusty rubble. _"Chibi?...….YUKIKO!"_

**For the love of...was this a LONG chapter! (This thing is over 2k words!) Sorry for he cliffhanger to but it was needed or this chapter would NEVER get up! Plus I wanted to torture all of you by making you all wait lol. And you all will find out all about "HER" in the next season (a small incentive to stay with the fanfiction if you needed it :)). I just had to introduce her and needed something to use as a vehicle for Chūya and Yuki talking on the phone. Though I would love to hear your theories on what you guys think~~~**


	4. The Card Of Power

_"No Dumbass! I just happen to have a really good card up my sleeve."_

_"The card of power perhaps?"_

_"So you're a Gifted too." -Chūya and Hirotsu before their fight during their first meeting in Suribachi City_

_Dazai, Chuya, Fifteen Years Old_

* * *

The job had been a typical hit job.

Locate the target and annihilate them then flee the scene without getting caught by the police. Course the more people taken out with the target the better to create confusion and hide the actual one he intended to hit. The guy's employers even gave him spacific details of where to find his target and the best time to carry out the hit. All he had to do was take out a copper headed individual they didn't like. Easy. Typical. Every hit job was pretty much either because someone didn't like someone else or for political strategy. And he'd be well paied upon confirmation of the job being done, then turn right around to hand them into the police to collect an additional reward for their capture for his so-called efforts. Perhaps families of those extras would even compensate him in some small way for his part in the arrest of their family member's supposed murderer. The man grinned cruely from his carefully calculated location accross the street and on a slant from the site at everything having gone perfectly according to his plan. What kind of bomber didn't want to see their work to assure all their troubles were fruitful in the end? Lucky for the man his plans were very fruitful indeed. Or that is it was fruitful with everything having gone perfectly according to his plan until it didn't...

The bomber was on his feet staring wide eyed at the chaotic scene before him, "No way! Thats not possible!"

The scene was worse then a mass murder site. The building which had previously housed the explosives had been reduced to nothing but a pile of smouldering wreckage. A thick choking black cloud of smoke rose up into the air above Yokohama City like a sickly ominous fog. One building was ablaze with tongues of flame. The one on the other side of the explosion's center had a whole side blasted clean away and a few areas of flame licking at it's blackened skeleton as well. Meanwhile the streets weren't in all that much better condition as the buildings were. It was unclear just how widespred the damage was, but it was definetly more so then just the area in front of the detonation site. Charred sidewalk and road that started to crack under the extreme heat, large chunks of building, shards of glass, half-melted cars, poles and trees now splintered turned to crackling firewood, along with sparking power wires littered the surrounding area turning it into a live very real hazard zone. Yet for all the damage and sheer destruction the blast had created in the middle of the city that day one thing was missing among the after math...bodies. There should have been the blackened remains of human skeletons laying among the rubble...bone ash scattering to the four winds in the gentle breeze that started blowing through scattering the debris cloud hanging about. But it was quite the opposite. It was more like the people who had just been out and about the city streets seconds before the bombs went off vanished into thin air all at once. Like they didn't exist at all. The smells of blood and burning flesh should have permeated the air of the street, not just that of gunpowder and smoke. The bomber had been so sure that everything had gone of without a hitch, clearly he had ben very wrong. Not good. His employers were paying him to get rid of their enemy and he had to escape in order to go back to them to collect his reward. If the job wasn't done he'd loose a pay day at best. There had to be an explanation for the lack of victims as the hit man made his way over towards the detonation site removing a gun from his coat loading it as he walked. He would finish this job no matter what.

"Damn murderous maniacs, this city already has one too many thanks to that uncultured fool Kajii and his ridiculous fruits. What is it with people and their love of explosions anyway?! Jeez!", the copper haired teen moaned fighting back the seriously annoying high pitched ringing in her ears. Man they hurt like nothing she'd felt before! Yukiko's whole body hurt as a matter of fact thanks to the quick action she had to take. The orange haired girl wasn't used to having to protect more then a handful of people at best, here she had acted in defense of an entire section of street. Against fire and a surprisingly strong close ranged blast at that. She'd be surprised if there wasn't some kind of strain on her body because of what some may have called a reckless move. As it stood Yukiko was breathing heavily for air trying to ease the insistent heart beating against her chest while bent over. 'Two. Including yourself three at the most but no more then that got it? One more then then three people total and the strain will be too strong for you to physically handle at once. You've got to take this stuff slow Chibi. These things have broken stronger then a fifteen year old child.' Yukiko grit her teeth as the boss's words echoed in her head. Well she had definitely handled more then three this time and she he wasn't kidding about the drawback. Still if it meant she had managed to protect everybody from the attempted murder then it was all worth it to the teen. The copper haired girl wasn't the child that the boss thought she was anymore. Taking a deep steadying breath the bussiness ready-clad young girl gingerly pushed herself back onto herself back so as to sit upright on her feet ignoring the protests of her body. Around her sounds of shuffling and coughing but no screaming, shouting of names or crying...good. That meant that Yukiko had indeed managed, by some miracle, to keep everyone in the area that would be another victim of the wannabe bomber's attack safe. The air was still thick with debris but it was easy for her to sense where everyone was around her despite the choking smokescreen. "Everyone stay right where you are! Please don't move until I say so! I promise you all'll be just fi-!"

The all too familiar crack of a gunshot splitting the air drew the teen's attention from the civilians around the destroyed street. Yukiko turned her head just in time to catch the tinkling bell-like sound of metal hitting concrete. The morning sunlight catching the shot she knew to be intended to finish her off making it glint as it fell harmlessly to the ground. The bullet having been cleaved perfectly into two halves when it got too close to the teen who should have been it's mark. Bending down to pick up the half of the severed round that had fallen closest to her Yukiko stood while examining it. After a second of turning the small piece of metal over a few times in her palm, "You're carrying a Glock 37 semi-automatic pistol, I recognize this sort of ammunition you just tried to lodge into my back. So what? You incapacitate your victims before stabbing them or something? I mean you are the one thats been murdering members of the Port Mafia aren't you?" The blue eyed teen got to her feet tossing the bullet half away to the side. Her eyes were narrowed focused ahead where the attempted shot had come from. Putting a hand on her hip, "I know you're there so no sense in staying hidden like the coward you are. Then again I'd be hiding to if I was as incompatent as you with a simple assasination job. I've met total rookies with more talent then you." Even if the guy decided to not listen to her provocation and show his face it wouldn't really matter. Not to Yukiko anyway. The copper haired girl had senses that rivaled the best trained hunting dog's senses and they never failed her. Whoever this creep was he'd been following her since shortly after visiting the graveyard, having felt a presence not long after leaving. Almost immedietly after leaving actually. The bomber had been intentionally tracking her waiting for the most oportune moment to carry out his attack to cause mass casualties.

There was a deep laugh coming from the clearing debris smokescreen, "Murder? Me? That sure is rich coming from someone like you, dog. I never thought I'd hear the scum of the criminal underworld calling me a murderer for trying to do the city a favor and make a little profit off of it at the same time...how amazingly conceded you people can be. Still you black dogs are all the same when you're backed up into a corner unable to escape though. You snarl and snap at anything that moves but give a weak bite."

Yukiko's fingers curled in flexing as her blood boiled at the hit man's taunting words regarding those he'd killed. Taunting words regarding those of her family that he'd killed for no reason other then they were her family. A more then sorry excuse if ever there was one. "A weak bite huh?", the black-clad teen repeated in a low tone under her breath. A soft chuckle caused the corners of her mouth to lift in a dark grin, "If all we DOGS do is snarl and snap at everything that moves then why haven't you moved yet? You're the one acting more like a lost little lamb whose been cornered by a wolf, not the other way around as you're making it sound. And I'm the lowest small fry on the organization's totem pole. Huh! That sure says something about you when you think about it doesn't it?"

The bomber grit his teeth, eye twitching at the teen's words she was attempting to taunt him with. Like he was really going to be shown up by some brat who got lucky his first bullet missed. "You little smart ass brat!", the man snarled at his target, "Be a good runt and play dead just like the rest of the dogs I've-the hell!?"

Yukiko grinned. Her hand tightened on the top of the pistol still aimed where she had been only a moment ago highly amused by the man's expression. It was one she was used to and yet never failed to bring the copper haired girl a smug smile to see. It wasn't something she saw often after all, since most of the time she delt with family. And her family knew that looks meant little to nothing in their particular line of work. "A little word of advice buddy.", said Yukiko coldly as a crimson outline formed around her body spreading to the weapon she held on to, "While I am a small fry in my family's ranks, don't take the bait if it is so painfully obvious something else just has to be going on. You got so wrapped up in your assured victory that my speed easily overwhelmed you." Giving the firearm a firm squeeze caused what appeared to be a slash mark running diagonal down the barrel of the weapon. A second later and it exploded as soon as the teen lifted her hand from it. The scream that left the bomber's mouth caused a thin line of goosebumps to form along Yukiko's neck in pleasure. While not a homicidal maniac in any meaning of the title, this particular low life had murdered several people of the organization for a small pay day. And that was one of the two crimes punishable by torture leading to eventual death in the copper haired fifteen year old's books. "There we go. Now then let's have a little chat about just who put the bounty on my friend's heads.", said the young girl staring at the bomber whose injured wrist she still hung onto as if in a death grip, "Better make it fast too because I really don't feel like dealing with the military police today. I'm going to be in a shit ton of trouble as it is with saving everybody recklessly. So start spilling the beans buddy."

The man reached up with his uninjured hand grabbing ahold of Yukiko's arm before letting out a pained laugh. "If the military police are coming then all I have to do is wait. I know all about you Gifted-types.", smirking he continued pulling out , "The most of you become dogs and a handful of you make up the so-called infamous Armed Detective Agency. Not to mention the rumors surrounding the Fitzgerald Corporation and theres a division of you in the government who are supposed to be watching out for the city. Hah! Your magic tricks don't scare me though! You're just a snot-nosed brat either way!"

Yukiko really couldn't stand the smug look on the guy's face like he had out done her. That overconfidence didn't belong on, in her frank opinion, an incompatatent man as he was. She was more capable of carrying out an assasination then this guy was for crying out loud. Closing her eyes, "You think my power can only cut objects? Clearly you've never seen a Gift in action before. Hmp." Her hand uncurled from the bomber's wrist dropping back to hoover off to the side. The crimson energy around her pulsed slightly as the teen began drawing on its power, the strain being pushed back by the anger that had boiled up in her core to take over. This guy killed members of the organization? The thought made Yukiko want to both laugh and throw up at once at the sheer stupidity of the very thoughts. The eight headstones with unfamiliar names swam accross the copper haired teen's line of sight as comeradie followed. She should have been there. If there had been some way the young girl could have been with any of those members of the mafia then they'd still be alive. Yukiko could have easily protected them and delt with this bastard right there and then, saving the lives of the others...had she been a Mafioso. The girl begged again and again to be allowed to join the group she had been a part of since birth. Yet the boss constantly, stubbornly refused to allow her to become a Mafioso for the organization. Any protests were turned right back against her as to why there was no way she was ready to be made a member of the criminal group. Her never ending persistance even earning her a pinning to the floor of the boss's office once or twice. "Special Ability. ****_Temple of the Red Pavilion!" _**

Yukiko watched the man before her crumble in on himself while releasing an ear-splitting wail. It was louder, continuous and more high pitched then the mere scream he'd let loose when the young teen destroyed the gun in his hand. With good reason for that too, considering this time it was his hand her ability had destroyed. Or rather severed clean off the rest of his arm was more like it. Despite the crimson liquid falling from the guy's arm to start the beginings of a puddle on the ground, Yukiko strood forward undetered to close the gap between them. "Oh did that hurt?", she taunted the screaming injured man on the ground in a calm even tone, "Sorry about that but you said we dogs have weak bites so I figured you'd be fine with loosing a mere hand. You should have stuck to killing civilians. The Armed Detective Agency have more patience then the Port Mafia, even with your ilk." The copper haired fifteen year old's feet made squishing noises as she came to a stop standing in the spreding pool. Reaching down, Yukiko grabbed the front of the man's clothes with both fists before moving one to hold his still in tact hand inches from a boxy slab-like wall of red energy that seemingly rose from the ground. Though the ground itself was undamaged by it. "My ability is called The Temple of the Red Pavilion. It lets me manipulate space by defining a area and then severing it from the surrounding space with these red barriers. Naturally that means anything that comes into contact with them is also severed clean in two. So-", she made as if to move the bomber's hand closer to the wall, "-wanna tell me who hired you to kill Port Mafia members and why? Or do you need another demonstration of my ability to make you see things my way?"

"You monster. How dare you touch me dog!", was all the man Yukiko was holding against his will spat out in response.

Yukiko's eyes narrowed as she forced the bomber's hand to hoover just in front of the barrier, "Says the person who felt nothing about taking out an entire street of people just to get to me. Also this dog just kicked your ass so lighten up on the insults, or I could just shove all of you into the barrier." The way his body stiffened at her last comment told the teen she finally had him more then ready to talk. It was about time in her opinion. She could hear sirens in the distance by now signaling their approching company. "Lets do this one more time...will you cooperate now?"

"A-Arahabaki. They...they want him..."

"They want him? They who? Who the hell is this Arahabaki and who wants him for what?"

"Sh-Sheep.", the bomber coughed out spitting up a bit of blood with it.

The fifteen year old didn't have time to demand an explanation from the wounded man on threat of causing him to loose a limb. Yukiko sensed the familiar overwhelming presence before the tell tale crimson energy surrounded the man. Yukiko wasted no time in releasing the bomber jumping back from him, only to see him collapse face first into the street. The sounds of crunching bones singing in her ears thanks to the impact. Yes he was dead but knowing the guy got off lucky made the girl bite the inside of her cheek in frustration. Couldn't he have at least waited until the murderer gave up his explanation to her before showing up and killing him? Or maybe handed him over to those more skilled in getting information out of people first? That way Yukiko could sneak a peek at the reports herself to find out what he had meant by words like 'Arahabaki' and 'Sheep'? Like it was going to be easy to figure out what she wanted to know now that her source of information was unable to speak thanks to having all his bones crushed under the sheer weight of gravity. Crossing her arms over her chest the girl turned to meet the man she knew she looked enough like to have earned the nickname he'd given her since she was a toddler. The energy of her power fading away at the arrival of the new presence commanding the area. "There wasn't any reason for you to get involved in this, I didn't need saving. If anything he could have used saving from me. I had i-", Yukiko started only to be silenced just as quickly as a pair of strong arms reached around pulling her forward. The copper haired teen soon finding her line of sight being taken up by a vest made of rich pale charcoal grey fabric. A vest that was part of a suit which the teen knew to cost a pretty amount of yen well over the hundred-thousand ranges because of the maker of the clothes. On instinct the fifteen year old sighed raising her own arms to wrap around the man's back while pressing her face to the suit. While displays of affection were in no means short supply, they typically were non-existent while in public like this as a general rule. Speaking in a tone not much higher then a mumble thanks to her now flushed face buried in fabric, "Boss PDA!", the black-clad girl hissed not looking like she was planning on letting go right away even with the wary warning. Though her snap was cut off feeling a hand on her head messing with her bright locks. The teen well aware of the action's silent meaning.

Taking a breath the man breathed letting the young copper haired girl go from their little public display thus dropping his gloved hand from her head. "Damn kid, I swear you'll be the death of me one of these days and then what? I'll be haunting headquarters because worrying for you will keep me from moving on."

**Port Mafia Boss: Nakahara ****Chūya**

**Ability: For The Tainted Sorrow**

The dark suit-clad man cast a glance over in the direction of the broken body laying in a steadily growing pool of fresh blood. Red spreading slowly over the street as it rested there in the crushed dent created by his ability. Then narrowed blue gaze moved over the scene of destruction surrounding them before resting on severed bullet shells scattered around. The sight of these casings doing well to snap Chūya's already frayed, prickly nerves. It took the gravity manipulator tasting the slight metallic taste of a few drops of his own blood on his tongue to stay in control. Pulling out a cell phone from his pocket, "Did the the bastard say anything Chibi?"

The teen was far from oblivious. The head of the Port Mafia tended to be pretty abrasive around the edges despite his refined appearance and tastes on a daily basis but this was different. For as rough and abrasive as he could be, Yukiko also knew Chūya to be very much largely a petite teddy bear. By teddy bear the girl could always pick out a softness in the other wise blunt, prideful to the point of being arrogant to a fault man towards herself and the rest of the organization's members. Of course he had no idea she knew or if he had then Chūya denied it like he had no clue at any rate. But the way the man asked if the bomber had said anything to her during their fighting just didn't sound right. It was almost like his voice was off somehow or not entierly his own. She'd never heard bloodlust drip into the orange haired man's voice before now. "He-" 'Arahabaki...they want him...' The girl paused looking over at her former opponant laying spred out over the street as his cryptic last words echoed in her head. "He said-" '...they want him...Sheep..' She had to tell the organization's boss. Her gut instinct was to tell the orange haired man holding her at arm's length working with the communication device. It was even stronger then normal given this murderer had killed members of her family in cold blooded hatred just for his own petty beliefs and personal gain. Yet the way the gravity manipulator was making her feel vibe wise and recent events that had been going on lately in the city kept making the female teen choked on her words. Why was she hesitating to say something about this Arahabaki and Sheep the bomber had mentioned with his dying breaths? What to say if not the truth? If Chūya didn't buy her lie then the trouble she'd be in was huge for keeping important information from the rest of the mafia. "H-he-", the black-clad teen managed to force out before suddenly loosing all strength in her legs. 'Arahabaki...Sheep...they want him...' The bomber's voice kept getting louder in her ears. The Mafia Boss's words were garbled gibberish in her ears, as the feeling of something being dropped light over her shoulders made her practically leap back out of her skin startling her.

The destruction around her started blurring out of focus and seemed to spin like she was turning around in circle after circle. Her limbs were heavy and felt like they were made of some jelly substance as arms hung down dropping loose at her sides. The motion caused a pole being held up thanks to wires that managed to stay connected to be severed clean into halves. Several deep slash-like marks appeared in the ground around the teen's feet. The crimson aura was back surrounding her form, twisting around it while the back end of a already burning car was sheered off the rest of the remains. 'Sheep...they want Arahabaki..' Yukiko closed her eyes shutting them tight trying to drown out the noise but it was too loud by now to fight back under control. The insistent climbing volume in her head coupled with those of approaching sirens drawing nearer really wasn't helping the situation. Neither were the smells of smoke permeating the air as plumes of it rose up into the Yokohama City skyline doing any good. Yukiko wanted it to stop, it had to stop or the fifteen year old was sure she would burst a part at the seems exploding just as the building had. She needed someplace quiet where she could rest to buy time so she would be able to think things through. The black-clad teen needed her own space...of course! Why not just give herself her own quiet space to think? Reaching out a hand, "Special Ability! Temple of the Red Pavilion!"

"Ability! For The Tainted Sorrow!-No Longer Human!" were the last words Yukiko heard before a flash of blue and red simultaneously took over her sight for a brief moment. Though ribbons of blue and white cloth swirled around her seeming to push back the crimson haze making it dissipate, before her vision went totally black like a soothing blanket of darkness falling on her. The copper haired Gifted now slumped unconscious held tightly in a pair of arms wrapped with white bandages.

**Armed Detective Agency Investigator: Dazai Osamu**

**Ability: No Longer Human**

****Daughter of Nakahara Chūya and Dazai Osamu: Nakahara-Dazai Yukiko**

**Ability: **Temple of the Red Pavilion**

* * *

**Temple of the Red Pavilion

Based on a book by Yukio Mishima(who happens to be Yukiko's real life writer equivalent). It revolves around space manipulation by cutting off or defining specific areas of her choosing by using the creation of red colored barriers taking the form of slab-like walls or boxes. The areas she defines with these barriers are absolute. Any physical matter or energy caught within the severed spatial area will be cut. The attack can also leave behind a dimensional line, which will cause anything that comes into contact with it to be cut as well. Since this is a spatial attack that distorts the fabrics of reality, there is no physical defense against it. The boxes and walls can appear very quickly, with very little to no lag between the attack and damage. In addition Yukiko's ability gives her the instinctual extrasensory ability to be highly intune with the surrounding immediate space around her within a certain range, as well as she is able to manipulate the inside of the defined space like lower the oxygen level inside the area and create platform-like footholds.

**This will be addressed in more detail in "Forever Double Black". It will also be touched briefly on in the third season as a flashback thats Fifteen-ish as well as one that is Dark Era-ish. For now please just accept that yes I have made Soukoku a romantic pairing here (because I believe in it!), with Yukiko as their daughter. I will add that she is in fact Chūya's biological daughter though! Hehe! Anyway hope I managed to show some traits of both our idiots with her.


	5. Willing To Follow Wherever It Took You

_"You entertained the same notion as well did you not? You looked into the same rumors we did, and were willing to follow wherever they took you." -Mori to Chūya about him and the Port Mafia both following leads on Arahabaki_

_Dazai, Chūya, Fifteen Years Old_

* * *

**Sorry it took longer then expected. Was it worth it? Working on carefully intergrating our beloved cannons into the story and keeping them as we know them. Not easy yet don't think I'm doing TOO bad so far. Love to hear your opinions. Also, as a side note, Atsushi will have very minimal chapter time in this fiction so if you are hoping for a lot of him...sorry. I just can't. He is just too weak and poorly developed, especially as a main character. ALL the other characters are so much stronger and more interesting then him. He will be scattered because he must be around as a cannon, but scattered none the less. There willl be plenty of Akutagawa though once the time is right promise! Not to mention this is mafia-centric as opposed to the manga/anime which is more agency-centric.**

**And that last chapter...yeah. No idea where the love of heck that monster came from.**

'Sheep...they want him...'

'Arahabaki...'

Warmth.

That was the first thing Yukiko became conscious about as she started to come to. The fact that she was wrapped in a cacoon of warmth that smelled strongly of expensive alcohol with faint undertones of cigarette smoke begining to ease the teen back into the waking world. A content moan escaped the teen while she turned her head burying her face deeper into her pillow as new scents greeted her. Her pillow adding the smells of fresh coffee, an almost enhanced smell of river or sea water and fresh linen to her senses to mix with the more richer scents there. They were about ten times more pleasing to the copper haired Gifted's nose then that of hot choking smoke..hold the phone.. Blue eyes shot open at the memory of what just happened as the panic set in taking over. What was she doing laying around in bed!? There was some crazy attempted bomber hunting down members of the mafia while spouting out nonsense about 'Arahabaki' and 'Sheep' for crying out loud! An entire street full of innocent un-Gifted civilians were in harm's way! Yukiko couldn't just lay there safe in bed doing nothing! She had to help or they'd all become a bunch of casualties stuffed in black body bags lining length of the city street! She had to-

"Hey whoa now! Easy there Chibi, no need to jump the gun there! Move too fast too soon and you'll-"

Her surroundings started spinning along with her stomach. Yukiko didn't have the time to register much before she found herself having collapsed back again. Did she ever feel aweful. Her body ached all over making her tremble as if with cold all of a sudden, which made her instinctivly seek heat. Luckily a black coat was pulled up over her as the soothing smells of booze and cigarettes returned wrapping around her. Scents which the teen took slow deep breaths of. Yukiko knew someone was holding onto her but it wasn't in a restrictive manner like she was kidnapped or something. Nope. It was more along the lines of being held protectivly by someone...enough to hold her there but she could get away if she so wished. Not that the teen wanted too from this particular person though. The orange haired young girl raised a arm to lightly cling onto one of the bandaged arms wrapped around her. Resting her chin on the same limb to get her bearings, "Thanks for the save Dad.", she breathed taking a deep breath. There was the fresh coffee and linens which oddly had complimented the other richer smells meeting her senses at the same time. The richer smells which, she realized looking down, came from the black coat which was useually worn by the mafia's boss. A twist around to confirm her suspicions, and given the brunette man wasn't wearing it, and Yukiko found the second source to be a neatly folded tan coat which had evidently been acting as her pillow. Turning back around, the teen pulled the tan coat up over her shoulders like a cape of sorts. The darker coat which had been her blanket was pulled more up the front to just under her chin without putting it on. Then the fifteen year old paused for a second before whipping her head in the brunette's direction with narrowed eyes, "Don't tell me-" The girl's eyebrow twitched in realization at what was going on as it finally came to light.

Dazai watched Yukiko arrange his and Chūya's coats around herself before tucking into them as if they were rather comfortable blankets. A fond chuckle escaping the detective at the sight. He was the one that had made the teen lay back down on the ground instead of springing to her feet like a tightly coiled spring. It seemed that, no matter her age, this one was going to be a well spring of energy. Did the two men ever have their work cut out for them with her. Ah well...like father like daughter Dazai supposed. Even the face she made when facts clicked together in her head was similar to the hat-wearing Gifted. "Took you long enough to figure it out, I'm a little disappointed you didn't recognize my voice over the phone though. Its not like I've been banned yet despite a certain person's threats to ban me.", the agency member sighed letting his mumified arms fall once he was sure the young Gifted wouldn't collapse again or try to get up. Though he did let them pull his coat more around her shoulders first. "You gave us a real scare there for a bit you know. I know a certain glasses-wearing insane workhorse whose going to have his work cut out for him for awhile cleaning this mess up. Between that bomber and you you're responsible for the destruction of a large section of city block, which is going to set his plans back at least a day. But it could be longer with the damaged buildings and all the eye whitness reports to take and sort through.", at this Dazai grinned evily while giving his daughter a thumbs up, "Nice job, looks like I am a proper Senpai after all. I've taught you well."

"It's not like I ever heard you two call each other by your names other then stuff like 'Makerel' and 'Slug'. Hearing the name 'Dazai' all of a sudden made it sound like a totally different person was on the other end.", she pointed out letting her body ease itself back against cool stone ground she found herself on. The whole time Yukiko eyed her father with a look of uncertainty trying to read his apparently rather pleasent mood. Which was not a good thing necessarily. This was Osamu Dazai after all. That didn't change just because he was her parent. "So thats it? You're not mad at me? I loose control of my ability and wake up having been dragged somewhere after passing out and thats it?", she warily asked not believing that she was getting off so easily. Not considering what had just happened at least. The copper haired teen was expecting, no maybe hoping would be better, a Port Mafia-Style retribution for her reckless endangerment of their place of work and potential cliental pool. But all she was getting wasn't even a slap on the wrist from the ex-Executives.

This was just another reminder that Yukiko wasn't considered a real member, if one at all, of the underground organization. She wasn't a real member of her family.

Dazai tilted his head still smiling warmly at the teenaged Gifted. Was the girl actually asking for some kind of punishment for her not surprisingly reckless behavior? Maybe the detective and his ex-partner had been a bit too rough trying to snap her out of it and bring their daughter back into her right mind. Not that either of them were decent judges of right minds. More like stop her could have been worse rampage was more accurate. Crossing his arms over his chest while reclining back in a lazy manner to stare at the crossbeams over head, "True but honestly we're both just glad you're alright. Besides Slug is the last person who can yell at you for over doing it with your ability, and I'm pretty used to it by now. The most damage you did, aside from the street, was cause the agency a whole lot of tedious paperwork. Good thing we have Kunikida and Atsushi or the rest of us would be in serious trouble buried under paper all day."

And there was her father torturing his co-workers again...nothing unusual there. Maybe Yukiko could trust his word about not being in trouble after all. Regardless the copper haired girl decided it wasn't worth pressing the matter if the brunette wasn't. It was best not to where the detective was involved considering she knew him well. That and she had questions she wanted to keep the man from asking her too regarding the bomber. One of those questions being what the murderer had said. "Speaking of the boss-", Yukiko twisted her head finally looking around her new surroundings noticing the changes, "-we're not on Yokohama's streets any more. Where is the boss? He was there with you right? I swear I remember him there too." She paused before, "I didn't..?", she started fearfully searching her surroundings for any sign of the familiar semi-beat up hat. Apparently that almost enhanced smell of sea water was thanks to the Yokohama Port. It looked like after she had passed out in the street both men had brought her to an empty warehouse along the waterfront. How long she was out of it was something which the young teen couldn't be sure of but it couldn't have been longer then a few hours at the most since, by the light streaming into the front of the warehouse, it was still the same day. That was a small consolation at least.

The brunette man's facial expression changed as a frown took over. "Chūya-"

Yukiko's head whipped towards her father as a sensation of ice suddenly being injected into her body washed over her. Needlessly at that because the next second a blur of black and red rushed past her.

Stance firm and rooted into place on the concrete warehouse floor. Gloved fingers pulled back curled into a pair of black-clad fists as the man leaned forward into his intended punches. A cellphone trapped in his grip sticking out the side of his hand. One fist was pressing against another hand wrapped tight around it to keep it from reaching the detective's cool expressionless face. The other was being forced into a downwards angle having been caught by the wrist, but was aimed at Dazai's stomach. "Finish that sentence", warned Chūya staring up at his ex-partner, "and I'll strangle you Mackerel. I warned you about traumatizing the kid. If you screw her up I'm sending her to the agency for you all to deal with."

Dazai squeezed the man's fist and wrist unphased by the threats which he was pretty used to. The squeezing acting as a dare for the former Executive to take action on his words. "Oh really? You know thats not the first time you've made that particular threat and I'm still breathing aren't I? Besides we both know I'm the only one that stands a chance against you if you're serious.", he replied keeping his body leaning back out of the mafia boss's immediate reach. It was better to be on the safe side then sorry. He'd been with the copper haired man far too long to be foolish as far as the Gifted's physical prowess went.

"Aaand you two are doing it again."

Both men simultaneously turned their heads looking towards the teen eyeing them both in return.

"Just what are we doing again?", asked Chūya raising an eyebrow at the teen wondering what she was talking about. He was trying to beat the crap out of his suicidal former partner but that was about it. He didn't see this, nor apparently did Dazai, as strange behavior. In fact it was the norm for the two of them and had been for years.

With an roll of azure eyes the teen got wobbly to her feet teetering a bit as she did like a newborn animal getting to it's legs for the first time. It was only thanks to the red haze surrounding her that she was able to regain her own balance before it faded away. Yukiko wanted to protest the aide but bit her cheek. Accepting the help was a far more pleasing option then collapsing to the floor again in an embarassing manner was after all. And it wasn't like she could actually fight against the gravity-based ability anyway. "You're doing it again...that weird Double Black thing that happens when you two are together.", the young teen repeated with a sigh to her voice watching both men, "You're acting like you both don't know if you want to beat each other up or get into a serious make-out session. As much as it disgusts me telling my dads this, just suck it up and start making-out already...please. I can go hang out outside if you and dad need a minute." Yukiko's words were truthfull, blunt and sincere. Aside from it being painfully obvious to every member of the mafia, not to mention the agency as well, the two ex-Executives were the girl's parents for crying out loud. How much more evident could their feelings for each other get?! The copper haired teen knew the men cared for each other yet they were being extremely large pains in the asses about admitting the fact.

The gravity-manipulator paled as the color drained quickly from his face. For a brief moment he looked like he'd force his blow through Dazai's defenses right to his face and gut as planned. The light cracking of the communication device in the mafia boss's hand giving away just how hard Chūya was holding back. "Luckily for your dad he's more usefull conscious, bearly, but more then if he was unconscious. Otherwise I'd beat his ass and ground your's Chibi.", huffed the copper haired Gifted slowly lowering his fists pulling them away feom their intended target. Turning away from the brunette man, "Like I'd let this idiot anywhere close enough to my face to try something as ridiculous as that. Not on his life."

Dazai ended up smirking while moving to drape an arm around the petite mafia boss's shoulders leaning into him casually like it wasn't a big deal. Or like it was only serving to irritate Chūya more as the detective planned it too. "Come on Slug, why not? We do look good together after all don't we? Though we all know its my manly charms that makes our partnership so appealing. A certain shorter half of our duo is much too tempermental and tends to scare people away more then attract them. Except me of course." Dazai struck a sort of comical pose standing beside the shorter ability user ignoring the clear annoyance said ability user was giving off. Then turning towards his ex-partner with a devilish look behind those brown eyes, "You know I'm still waiting for a proposal. Too bad you missed your opportunity while saving me from Shibusawa and Fyodor."

A vein poped out in Chūya's forehead as he grit his teeth. "Hate to break it to yah but you've never had any manly charms before, that and you'll waiting 'cause like hell I'm going to propose to you of all people. Not even if the boss rose from his grave and ordered me too. Besides what happened to you going on and on about commiting suicide with a beautiful women!?", growled the hat-wearing man clearly trying to contain his mounting emotions as he glared at the detective from the corner of his blue gaze.

The devilishness didn't fade one bit from the detective, "But Chuuuuyaaaa! Commiting double suicide with my old partner is so much more poetic! And you know I'm never wrong!"

"What about the kid genius?"

"We can always make it family suicide instead..."

"Chibi isn't going to kill herself just because you think us dying together as a family is freaking poetic is some insane way!"

Yukiko let out a moan while raising her hands to rub her temples. Oh was the rest of this day ever going to be a long one... The copper haired teen almost found herself wishing that she had stayed unconcious a little while longer to avoid this little spat of her parents. Used to them or not by now, they were still super annoying in the girl's opinion. Funny at times but annoying none the less. And yet a smile sat front and center spreading just about from ear to ear over the teen's face. For as much of a pain as her parents could be, particularly when they were together like this, Yukiko knew everything was allright with them around. Their childish bantering coupled with occasional beating each other up a sign all was normal. That there was nothing to worry about or be afraid of. Even if something was going on then the two men would handle it like it wasn't anything to fret over. Yukiko slipped her arms into sleeves of the gravity ability user's typical mafia-black coat. Afterwards her father's was promptly pulled on over it to sit on her shoulders like a tan cape. The blue-eyed teen still felt a little out of it, the couple of dancing spots before her eyes not helping, but she could stand and walk...for the most part. Her body ached from pushing her ability farther then she was used to but it was well worth it to save the civilians she had.

"Moving. On.", growled the Port Mafia Boss in a strained voice as he forced himself to remain in controll. Though for all his frustration with his ex-partner at the moment, Chūya didn't bother removing the brunette detective's arm from it's place across the back of his shoulders. In fact he ignored the brunette detective leaning into him like it was nothing out of the ordinary. To be fair though it really wasn't with these two particular men. Chūya eyed the copper haired teen wrapped in their coats for a moment before letting out a breath already knowing what to expect from said girl as a reaction. "With Akutagawa being busy handling a small issue in the West at the moment, I gave Kōyō a call. She'll be here, along with an armed escort, in ten minutes to pick you up and take you back home.-"

"WHAT!?", demanded Yukiko rounding on the mafia boss as soon as the words left him. Azure eyes locked on similar blue while widening to the size of dinner plates. She would have leapt at the man had it not been for noticing the miniscule step the detective beside him took. It took a knowing, trained eye to notice the slightly defensive movement her dad had taken at her outburst. Still that was all it took to keep an otherwise fuming Yukiko's feet firmly in place. So it wasn't only the petite boss who was on edge then...weird. Was it possible that the young ability user was missing something here that the two men were keeping to themselves? What exactly was going on here?

'Arahabaki...Sheep...they want him...Arahabaki...'

The young teen narrowed her eyes in her parent's direction...

The hat-wearing ability user's eye twitched at the out burst but he simply let out a breath before continuing. "With Akutagawa being busy handling a small issue in the West at the moment, I gave Kōyō a call. She'll be here, along with an armed escort, in ten minutes to pick you up and take you back home.", continued Chūya keeping his gaze locked with his daughter's the entire time, "You will go home with Kōyō. You will stay there under her direct supervision and obey her until I come back after cleaning this mess up with your dad got it? Not that this'll take very long with both of us handling things...a day or two if we get hung up on something for whatever reason. These guys won't last longer that in the city though."

"Whose Arahabaki and what does Sheep want with him?"

**Also...is it bad that I baught Little Women, a book with a collection of HP Lovecraft's works(including 'The Call of Cthulu'), No Longer Human and The Poems of Nakahara Chuya(which includes both 'Soiled Sorrow' and 'Song of the Sheep')? And I am fully planning on buying others...I think I may have an issue. Especially since I am bit by bit reading them. **


	6. If You Know, You Should Tell Her

"_Chūya, I have a question for you. Do you know where Arahabaki is right now? Tell me boy."_

_"If you know, you should tell him. Rondo is going to be executed for endangering the Port Mafia so theres no harm in letting him know."_

_"Damn it! What the hell is it with everyone?! Why does everybody wanna meet that thing?! Jeez, it's not like it has the power to revive the dead or something! That thing doesn't have any kind of personality or even have a mind of it's own! It's like a typhoon or an earthquake!"_

_"It doesn't need a personality, it's pure destruction. It's devastation has no limits. It scorches the earth, stains the skies and rumbles the air. This thing from the other side is unfathomable Chūya. That power is enough for me. Where is this thing beyond human comprehension? This thing that burned me alive."_

_"I'll tell you if you really wanna know. Arahabaki...is me."_

_"What did you say?"_

_"I had the feeling it might turn out to be you."_

_-the revelation of Arahabaki's identity_

_God of Fire_

* * *

"You know-", started Yukiko in a agitated tone of voice staring out the window at the passing familiar city landscape. The fifteen year old stared out the window at the different buildings and skyscrapers passing by as if they held some kind of fascination in her opinion. Numerous citizens of the city were out wondering the streets as if the incident earlier had never happened and all was well. Completely unaware of the decidedly tense atmosphere of the dark vehicle carrying the particular family to their destination. Or, perhaps considering who was in the car, target would be a better term then destination. The trio were headed out of Yokohama City's main area towards the port for the second time that day after a quick stop to change from their typical attire. Chūya had exchanged his typical luxury suit for a simple plain white t-shirt accompanied by a long red man's cartigan which almost looked too big for him. Over the pop of color was the ability user's long black jacket. For the change in wardrobe from professional to casual bussiness at the most though hat, gloves and the fine black chocker around her father's neck remaind in place. And the copper haired mafia boss wasn't alone in his sudden wardrobe change either. Of course the taller detective's had been much more drastic then the boss's. The fifteen year old shifted in her seat under the tan coat normally worn by her dad but which was currently adorning, well swallowing up really, her more feminine frame. As with her father, Dazai had shed his blue vertically striped shirt and passed his tan coat onto his daughter in exchange for a mostly black motif. Though the blue jewel pendent did adorn the top of the full length tie securing it in place around the brunette's neck. Otherwise the agency member's normal blue shirt and dark vest had been changed out for a white button down top with a black jacket buttoned up the front. Beige pants had been exchanged for a pair of black ones. Brown shoes also swaped out for black polished shoes. With the tan coat he normally wore now in Yukiko's possesion, her dad's current look was topped off by a long black coat not unlike that of the man sitting in the front beside him.

"-when you two said we were going on our first family vacation just the three of us, I was thinking someplace a little more...more. Oh somewhere like say Rome, Milan, London, a cruise of some kind, the Bahamas or some other island destination, the North Pole or Antarctica. Somewhere either exciting and expansive, or where you could brake my jaw and shoot me three times and nobody would ever find me.", the teen said closing her eyes before reopening them to stare at the backs of the driver and front passenger seats before her, "Not just across the Yokohama Sea to a giant hole in the ground. I changed my comfortable clothes for street clothes like Papa said and everything."

"Papa huh? Its been awhile since you've called me anything other then 'Boss'.", Chūya noted from his place in the driver's seat of the black Lamborghini. One elbow resting against the slight window frame of the door while gloved hand dangled free. His opposite hand secured the wheel of the vehicle keeping it under his control while weaving through the city streets. Taking up the front passanger seat at his side was Dazai. Head of wavy brunette filling the former Executive's right side view keeping him constantly aware that the suicide prone ability user was there.

The teen rolled her azure blue eyes, "It hasn't been just us in awhile." Yukiko stared at the heads of copper and brunette in the front seats. The shorter head of brighter locks positioned behind the wheel focused on directing the car through the city streets. The other texting an unknown recipient on a cellphone. Though, if the fifteen year old had to guess, it was probably one of those detectives her dad worked with. The appeal of working with a group of goodie goodie detectives versus the mafia wasn't something Yukiko would understand. Keeping innocents safe was something which the fifteen year old could wrap her head around perfectly, but the confines in which Dazai was doing that in? Technically a moral gray area or not there was no way the young Gifted believed she could function day to day like that. "So who decided we were crossing the sea in the car instead of the ocean in a privet plane? Even a commercial plane?"

"It was years ago before you were even a possibility.", started the hat-wearing man not looking away from the road streaching out in front of the car.

The mafia teen paused stiffening up suddenly alert like a puppy that noticed some interesting scent or noise.

Dazai turned his head looking away from the passing city landscape of Yokohama to look at his ex-partner. The normally tempermental copper haired man didn't say anything else or bother to look at him in return. And yet the detective completely understood Chūya's cue. After all it was Dazai who was the natural born actor and lier...not the mafia boss. Plus the other Gifted wasn't exactly in the best mental shape at the moment to talk about his past without giving away the truth. "Fine.", was all the detective sighed under his breath in acknowledgment of his ex-partner's trail of thought. Glancing at their board looking shadow seated behind the driver's side, "What do you know about Japan's Gods and Goddesses Chibi? I happen to know you've read at least one book on them right?"

Yukiko lifted her head from her hand turning curiously to meet the ability user's brown eyes with a confused blue of her own. "Gods and Goddesses? How ancient are we talking? Like Shinto ancient?", the teen asked not seeing where this coversation was going or what it had to do with their outing to a hole in the ground. Which she also had yet to get what it had to do with her question about Arahabaki and Sheep. The differant topics just didn't appear to mesh with each other. "Not much.", Yukiko admitted, "Papa doesn't want me 'heeding the call of Cthulhu' and becoming a cultist or something. I know some of the main ones like Izanami, Izanagi, Amaterasu, Tsukiyomi and Susanoh but just them. Even for them I pretty much probably only know the basic kiddie stuff." As with most the young Nakahara had gone through a growing up phase where she deveolped some kind of odd interest in a particular topic. Her phase just happened to be centered around the numerous dieties of Japan's past. There was just something fascinating about the imaginary all powerful figures to the then young girl. They were almost as curious as the boss's ability to make things crushingly heavy or lighter then air on a whim...but he was a Gifted. Being Gifted wasn't exactly uncommon, doubly so in Yokohama which had always seemed to be a extra active hub of people harboring supernatural abilities. Maybe the ancient dieties were so interesting because they reminded Yukiko of her family come to think of it.

"So then you never heard about Arahabaki.", prompted Dazai.

The fifteen year old was hesitating way too long she knew. She could feel her body instinctively pushing back sinking into her seat while being unable to look away from those knowingly narrowed brown eyes locked on her. Yukiko was trapped and not just because she was in a moving vehicle. She curled her tongue clicking it on the roof of her mouth to try and control her reply. "Ara-who?", the copper haired girl played dumb after a minute dragging her gaze away from her father, "Considering that name wasn't one on the list can't say I have. Why? Does this...whatever...have to do with Sheep or our 'trip'?" Yukiko raised her hands making air quotes at the word 'trip'. So the teen had been right after all then about her parents keeping some sort of secret from her and this was it. Everything was starting to slowly make sense as it all sank in little by little now. While the specifics were still unknown to the young Nakahara it was clear that the recent string of deaths within the mafia's ranks was, without a doubt now in the girl's mind, connected to a group called Sheep. Maybe it was high time Yukiko show her parents she was perfectly capable of being a Mafioso as well as just how great a Senpai the agency member really was. It couldn't be that hard. All the fifteen year old had to do was outwhit the most notorious duo of the Yokohama City Criminal Underworld to handle things out before they, who already knew more then she did, could.

The front seat was silent for a long minute following the copper haired ability user's answer. One man being busy guiding the car along the port roads towards the ever nearing Yokohama Sea ahead of them. The other man beside him in the passanger seat busy quietly searching the girl in the back for any hint of false words. Any little quirk that could possibly give away that Yukiko was lying to them about knowing about Arahabaki. Eventually closing his eyes and sighing, Dazai gave up his search to instead offer his daughter an explanation of his inquiry. Turning around back in the dark faux leather seat, "Like your father said it was years ago before you were a possibility. Actually it was our very first job together as Double Black to be more specific. We were your age back then, just a couple of fifteen year old punks with supernatural powers who happened to be members of Yokohama's largest crime organization. I'd been a member myself for a year already while a certain hat rack had joined a few months prior. To put it in Kunikida's words it wasn't the ideal time to be a kid weather or not you were a Gifted. Back then the area was in a almost constant state of conflict. It was so bad that even the Port Mafia, who was admittedly weakened due to just having come under a new boss a year before, had competition from three organizations in particular. First there was Takesikai, then a former privet security firm whose name we shortened to GSS and the third group was a gang of juveniles like us which went by the name Sheep.-"

Yukiko's eyes narrowed. "So this Sheep group are the ones who've been hunting down and murdering Port Mafia members? Or they hired that crazy bomber to for them. Cowards...", it may have sounded like a question the way Yukiko said it but it was more the Mafioso wannabe was stating a already known fact.

"Cowards doesn't even begin to described them.", added in the copper haired driver drawing the teen's attention to him, "He must have assumed you were a member because of your clothes and that's why he targeted you. I doubt he was after you for any other reason since he knew zip about your Gift. If he'd known you were an ability user he'd probably been a bit more sophisticated in his attack. But then again a thug like that?"

"Yeah but either way I kicked his ass and protected everyone on the street from the explosion. I had everything under control when you both showed up.", said Yukiko pointedly leaning forward so that she was leaning against the seatbelt and bracing against the back of Chūya's seat trying to lean forward.

Chūya looked at his daughter with the help of the mirror, "Sure yah did. All at what could have been the cost of your life if we hadn't been on the phone with you before hand. If nothing else the military police would have arrested you in your passed out state. And then you wonder why I refuse to let you be a Mafioso when you're clearly not ready."

It was a good thing the detective had reached into the back seat to grab the younger Nakahara when he did or the car would have been split into two. Well that or maybe crushed like a tin can depending on which of the two acted first. Yukiko's body froze at the physical contact. The girl's tongue instantly held back by her teeth preventing any more words from escaping her. While priding herself on never being afraid of either of her parents, the fifteen year old was also not fool enough to carry on the argument with the mafia boss. The soft yet firm hand around her arm serving as a more then sufficient warning to sit back and relax instead of pushing onward. "So if Sheep is the group responsible for hiring the guy that attacked and killed our members...then what has any of this have to do with Arahabaki or gods and goddesses exactly? I'm not really following. Besides are we even really sure it's actually Sheep? I mean if it was your first mission as Double Black then it could just be someone imitating them right? There isn't anybody, even another Gifted, that could take on one let alone both of you guys at the once and live let alone actually win a fight.", Yukiko decided it was best to go back to the original topic of conversation they had been on.

Things were starting to piece together but there was still a lot the young girl had no clue about. Plus it would be lying to say that the copper haired teen had zero interest in this particular story her dad was spinning. The Mafioso wannabe knew everything about every ability user in the city of Yokohama from those in her family to those that may enter the city and the organization gain information on afterwards. The mafia's intelligence department kept her pretty well updated on that thanks to her causins. Being kept in the loop of goings on was a nice perk that came with them being part of the criminal organization's covert ops unit and their mother being head of intel. So to say that finding out something new about her parents colorful pasts no less? To say she was excited was an understatement.

"That thing has everything to do with those bastards because the idiots are trying to bring it out. If they suceed it'll be more then just the end of the Port Mafia. All of the city could end up engulfed in black flames and smoke.", the gravity manipulator's grip tightened on the steering wheel trying to contain his tone at the thought of a burning city. The thought of his people and headquarters burning...his ex-partner and daughter burning all because of some stupid half-baked revenge scheme by a bunch of idiots who had no idea what they were dealing with. The ex-Executive wrung the wheel making himself focus on the sinisterly calm presence in the seat beside him. "I should have never had you spare them. They should have been whiped out along with the GSS back then and we wouldn't have this problem."

Dazai reclined back into the leather seat letting out a breath in the process, "You're right about that but you shouldn't blame yourself for being soft back then. It's not like we have the power to predict the future. There was no way either of us could have known how much of a pain they'd be or I'd had them all shot even with your request." The privet eye paused for a moment before adding, "Besides that's not going to happen. I really don't feel like dealing with your mood and baggage all in one day today."

The shorter of the two men kept his eyes on the road ahead.

The brunette man continued on with his explanation turning his gaze upwards staring at the ceiling of the vehicle redirecting his attention from his ex-partner. "You see, Chibi, Arahabaki is a God of Destruction and the new leader of Sheep in all his wisdom is trying to summon him for some elaborate revenge plot against Slug and the rest of the mafia with him. He is under the impression he was betrayed when, in actuality, your father never was a member of their little gang in the first place.", the brunette said in a nonchalant flippant manner closing his eyes, "It was all an act. The boss had assigned us to handle the situation with them and I'd determined the better hand to hand combatant to be the best option out of us both to infiltrate their gang. So, according to my planning, the two of us played enemies and then reluctant partners in order to deal with the mafia's biggest headache at the time and the biggest threat to the entire city at that point in time too.-"

Yukiko tilted her head to the side like a curious puppy as a light bulb flicked on in her head, "-So when the time came for Papa to go back to being your partner again, these guys didn't like it. Let me guess...they were trying to summon Arahabaki back then too weren't they?-"

"-Now you're starting to understand everything. Looks like we have a fast learner on our hands.", a small smile lifted the corners of Dazai's mouth, "Long boring history short? Sheep is planning on summoning Arahabaki again just like the last time to enact their revenge scheme for what they see as a betrayal by Slug back then. They don't care that they themselves will most likely be killed in the process and the rest of the city cleaned off the face of the map. Only as a full blown organization now they pose a much more real threat then back then. It's not going to be as easy this time to stop them for that same reason. As a result of that knowledge it was agreed that the Armed Detective Agency and Port Mafia team up again in order to handle this threat."

Yukiko raised an eyebrow at her parents watching the backs of their heads and letting her thoughts take over wondering freely. Though the majority of them were totally focused on the situation going on now. "Since Papa and you have handled these jerks before, you two got the lucky job of being the heros that finish them off right? It makes sense even if Uncle Akutagawa was here." That was all well and good. At least now the copper haired Gifted knew the what and why of what was going on and yet something just wasn't clicking. If it had then why did Yukiko still feel so uneasy despite the explanation of what was going on? It still felt like her parents were keeping something, some important detail, from the blue eyed teen with neither of them being willing to tell her. That and if this was such a dangerous job why bring her along? Why not force her to go with her aunt despite her protests? Sure the girl would pursue this mystery still on her own, but that didn't explain why both men had changed plans once she asked about Sheep and Arahabaki...

"We're here." The copper headed mafia boss's eyes were narrowed straight ahead as the car left the bridge to cross into the city-crater's limits. Glove-clad hands tightening into what would very likely be a white knuckled grip under the fabric accessories holding on the car steering wheel. "Welcome to Suribachi City Chibi.", Chūya spoke in a low growl.

**You know I try to write shorter chapters...and they just get longer. But I am loving these three interacting. **


	7. Wearing Those Blue Bracelets

_"Whats wrong?"_

_"Just shut up for a second okay!?"_

_"Oh look who it is. They're wearing those blue bracelets, must be Sheep members right? Is there a problem I don't know about?"_

_-Dazai and Chūya in the arcade when Shirase and Yaun appear looking for the gravity-manipulator_

_God of Fire_

* * *

Fire.

Fire was everywhere.

Sure her parents and the rest of her family in the upper echelon of the Port Mafia assumed she'd no clue of that day's events. They assumed that the only thing that came out of that horrific experiance was that Temple of the Red Pavilion had been activated for the first time. That she ended up being confirmed as a Gifted just like her parents, aunts and uncles were. But then again why would any of them have assumed otherwise when such thoughts had no evidence to back them up?

That bomber...the fifteen year old wasn't afraid of him. She had a thing against bombs and one of the Mafiosos in the organization whose ability revolved around them and explosions, but not because of that day. The bomber hired by Sheep had murdered her family. Meanwhile with the Mafioso it was more his personality then ability that sent the copper haired girl into a fury at the sight of him.

The fifteen year old wasn't afraid of fire.

She didn't enjoy fire to the point of being an outright young budding arsonist.

The trip over to Suribachi City proved she had no issues getting into and being in a car regardless of amount of time.

She wasn't withdrawn from everybody else and her surroundings...quite the opposite actually. The girl was quite the animated teen with a matching temperment to boot.

The copper haired teen had no aversion to corpses or blood. Violence in general was just one of the many tools which the Port Mafia had at it's disposal. Having such an aversion wasn't good for any of the organization's members and would be a bit of a problem.

And yet...

Yukiko ran through the streets of the crater-city as fast as her legs could carry her, only to push them faster still. The fact that she was possibly doing exactly what her target wanted her to not crossing her mind. She was much too focused on her target to let any other thoughts, logical or illogical, in. The teen didn't care that she was chasing an unknown person through unfamiliar, dangerous streets of Yokohama City's slums. Or the best equivilant to it. Suribachi hadn't changed much from when her parents were last here according to the mafia boss's growling complaints upon first arriving at Cone Street. The very place where Chūya and Dazai had staged their first meeting with each other while they were her age. None of that mattered to Yukiko though...not any of the insane risks she was taking at that moment phased her in the slightest. At least not when all Yukiko could recall were the flames from that day. Flames that made the ones that licked at the sides of the buildings when that explosion went off nothing more then weak little flares. Flames that gave off enough heat to compress stone to gemstones without the need for years. It certainly was enough to make short work of creating a liquid puddle of the metal car she'd been in.

If only she'd listen to her gut that day before getting into the car... Yukiko may have only been a six year old little girl who everyone thought was just a regular person despite her father being a powerful ability user. Yes all true. But still had Yukiko had only paused for a moment when something felt off to her while looking at the car that day things could have turned out differently. But it wasn't until after the murder that the fact her ability made the copper haired then child so intune with her surroundings that the little Gifted could sense malicious intent or danger around her came to light. Of course Temple was an ability that manipulated space so such a side effect made sense when one thought about it. "Where the hell do you think you're going!? You're not getting away from me bastard! Your ass is mine so give it up!", she shouted at the back of the pink haired women a few feet ahead of her. Not again. Yukiko would never again ignore her ability as she had that day and allow such a tragedy to repeat itself. "You're not taking my Papa away from me!", the Mafioso wannabe held out a hand towards the back of her fleeing target as she started drawing on her ability's power. A red energy outlined the Nakahara's form as the typical outward sign of what was coming next, "Special Ability! -" _'And then you wonder why I refuse to let you be a Mafioso when you're clearly not ready.' _Not ready... the belief she wasn't ready which the gravity manipulator had given as an explanation for not letting her join the Port Mafia. The fifteen year old would prove the boss wrong about that. The girl would defeat this Sheep member and then Chūya would be so impressed she'd join the rest of her family as a collegue in the Port Mafia for sure. **"-The Temple of the Red Pavilion!", **the Gifted commanded as red ribbons shot up from around her feet in answer.

The fleeing pink haired women turned around before ducking and leaping to the side in time to avoid the familiar box-like red barrier that the girl's ability manifested as. She stared at what was meant as her prison for a split second, before stepping backwards. This time she had narrowly avoided being sliced in half from the feet up by a wall appearing at her feet. Another narrow miss came as two more slabs on either side of her. The Sheep member's eyes narrowed at the constructs while people on the slum's streets started running for cover or to watch what was going on from a safe distance. Eyeing the barriers Yukiko created a smirk pulled at the corners of the women's mouth in a unsettling smug grin. Hearing the chasing footfalls slow before coming to a complete stop behind her, the women turned to face the young girl chuckling.

Yukiko came to a stop when she noitced her target was no longer running, but was standing in the middle of the street facing her as though patiently waiting for her to catch up. Was this women handing herself over to the mafia then maybe? "Whats so funny?! You're a member of the Sheep aren't you!? You're the ones killing our members for no reason let alone a decent one!", accused the young ability user glaring her target. Azure eyes focused on the pair of infuriating amused purple orbs. The women had managed to dodge all of her barriers...great... For all appearances it seemed this was going to end up being the Nakahara's first actual fight. And it wasn't going to be an easy one either. "I'm going to kill first you and then the rest of your organization like lambs to the slaughter."

Amused purple eyes shone in a way that made the teen have to dig her feet in to keep from backing up. This women was...unsettling to the teen if she was trying to keep her manners. "And nothing is funny except who would have thought a traitorous monster could have such an adorable little girl. You must have recognized my bracelet then.", the women's grin widened as she chuckled a bit as she held up her left wrist. There encircling it was a simple blue band of a bracelet. Lowering her arm, "Regardless how you recognized me and your appearance though with that mouth of your's you are the spitting image of him. I knew the moment I caught sight of you whose brat you had to be. Now come quietly with me." The Sheep women took a step towards the fifteen year old, "Shirase wants you taken alive , but I assure you killing you wouldn't be hard for me."

Yukiko took an instinctive step backwards as the women stepped forwards. Alive? Yeah no thank you. The teen knew what it meant to be 'wanted captured alive', one was better off just being killed outright. There was a good reason why the copper haired wannabe mafioso avoided the basement of the organization's headquarters at all costs after all. That room gave her nightmares. There was once when she was still a little kid, around six, when she had wondered the towers in search of her dad to nag him for a story about him and the mafia boss. She would have bothered the patite man but he was busy then and Yukiko was impatient. Stumbling upon the basement had been purely by accident fueled with curiosity. The sight of the man chained by the wrists to that slab of rock though had sent the child screaming up from the basement and into her uncle's arms who she had happened to run into in the hall. The young Nakahara hadn't been back down there since. "You're insane if you think I'd let you torture me as bait. But just go ahead and try it freak. And tell this Shirase to go ahead and screw himself while you're at it.", Yukiko said drawing on the power of her ability again ready to use it. This time she was going to be sure to capture the Sheep women in her ability and end her if she had to risk herself.

"Yukiko Nakahara-Dazai!"

Before Yukiko could react, she was picked up off the ground seemingly by herself and then forced stomach to the ground with the help of her gravity being hijacked. The copper haired former Executive casually tossed up a handful of bullets. Bullets which were tossed up into the air and then recaught them playing with the deadly metal objects. His other gloved hand holding a cartridge which normally housed the small metal casings while they were inside a firearm. It was he who'd shouted out Yukiko's name before using his ability to, for lack of a better word, ground his daughter. "Stay where you are Chibi. Use your ability to protect yourself if need be, but keep quiet and don't try to interfere.", Chūya warned his daughter as though the teen had a choice in the matter. She didn't. And was the fifteen year old Gifted ever going to be punished for not listening to him and his ex-partner after this annoying job was delt with properly this time. Had he and the suicidal brunette just told her to, whatever she did, not leave their sides nor use her Gift while they were in the settlement?

The blue eyed girl looked up as best she could while under the influence of Chūya's power. "Papa.", Yukiko forced out as she fruitlessly attempted to fight back against the red energy holding her down in place.

The female Sheep member, meanwhile, had jumped back out of the way bearly in the nick of time as a flurry of several bullets buried themselves into the ground. Buried themselves into the ground righr where she had been standing that is. Something which caused the once annoyingly cruel smug expression on her face to disappear, replaced instead by a scowl. The pink haired women made a 'tch' sound through her teeth while staring in the direction the rain of bullets had come from. "Well well, speak of the monster and he'll appear. Its been awhile thanks to a few delays.", said the women glaring at Chūya, "You have an adorable little girl Chūya...so like you. I can't wait to tell the others the rumors were true then. Especially since we figured you'd died once the poison eventually took hold...or hoped."

Chūya watched the women through ice blue pinpricks. Despite the taunting he knew was to get a reaction out of him, the Gifted kept his head and stayed calm. Perhaps it was the fact he knew the childish taunts were meant to get a reaction out of him that they failed to. Perhaps it was the fact his reckless daughter was in harms way...who knew. His ex-partner could be rubbing off on him more then the boss had always had considered once or twice at various instances. "It hasn't been long enough Yuan if you ask me.", Chūya closed his eyes letting out a breath, "As for your stunt poisoning me-" The shorter half of Double Black opened his cool blue eyes, "-its only because I got lucky someone decided to not try and commit suicide that day."

Yukiko would have been frozzen in place keeping stomach to the ground even without For The Tainted Sorrow's hold. Eyes turning to blue saucers as the red barriers shattered like crimson glass panes. Breath getting caught in her throat when the sound of a gunshot cracked through the air.

**Fun fact this chapter wasn't supposed to be this way HOWEVER, I thought that it would be the perfect opportunity. Nothing like in production editing. **** So I introduced yet another tid bit which shall be expanded on in future and in Forever Double Black. This chapter is what happens when you have an AHA! thought and there is nothing to do except to roll with it.~**

**Also as an fyi, the first part about the fire and melting car are things Yukiko remembers. They are not happening now. The part about her running and down is what happening now.**

**This only took what? A month or so to write?**


	8. Upholding Our Defense Policy

_"But don't we have to uphold our defense policy anyway? Think of it...as a teachable moment. Lay your hands on the Sheep and we hit back a hundred times harder right? Isn't that what you always say Chūya? Look if someone has the ability to make things right, then its their duty to step up! I'm begging you to own that responsibility now and use your power!"_

_-Shirase urging Chūya to attack the Port Mafia's base in the arcade after Sheep members were taken by the Port Mafia_

_God of Fire_

* * *

**So I know I mentioned this at some point but I am SLIGHTLY changing the new Soukoku set up. Instead of having a Mafia-Agency partnership it will be just like the 'original' [second generation if you count Fukuzawa and Mori as the very first Double Black duo] and be purely mafia-based. In other words Double Black has returned to the Port Mafia. Besides...I think Chūya and Dazai raising a child together, living together (and maybe getting married later if I can work it in somehow *wink wink*) is enough to warrent cooperation between the two organizations. And we all know Dazai is the main character anyway so...**

**Also side note I am pretty sure I have Double Black memorized line for line now lol. I have watched it waay too much.**

Yukiko wasn't afraid of her parents. She never had been before and doubted she could be even if she wanted to be. Yet Yukiko wasn't oblivious to their reputation. She knew it wasn't exactly what one would call 'stain free' even by the standards of an organization most everyone viewed as criminals like the Port Mafia. Though saying that the men's pasts were soaked in blood was an understatement if ever there was one. Her Aunt Higuchi going so far as to describe their pasts as 'blacker then black' and 'more mafia then every other member with the exception of one of your uncles in particular' when she asked at one point.

Yukiko knew that they weren't...the most qualified people to be parents. The first time the teen had met the detectives at the Armed Detective Agency a certain blonde four-eyed president lunged dragging her away from the men. He flat out claimed in a very loud obnoxious tizzy that someone would have to be a idiot among idiots to trust Dazai with a child for any length of time. It got worse when Chūya stepped into the detective office shortly behind them after parking the car. Needless to say the idealist, well anybody really, never attempted to force her away from either ability user again. Not with the silvery scar Temple left on Kunikida's collarbone as a warning against any future attempts to do so. Though Yukiko did have to hold onto her dad every time she paied the detectives a visit as a safety precaution to keep her ability under control.

Yukiko also knew there was no way either Gifted would even ever consider harming her with their abilities or otherwise ever. Despite who they were and their pasts both men were still her parents. They took care of her when she was sick. The pair of ability users alternating so one of them was always by her side even upon the young girl's annoyed insistence she was perfectly fine.

They bought her and gave her anything and everything she needed or asked for. Her aunts repeating their mantra that the copper haired girl was the very defination of spoiled. Not that they were any better then the two men in this department.

Every night they tucked her into bed together with stories which she didn't dare claim she was too old for at fifteen. Sometimes Chūya would recite a poem. All the while Dazai would be lounging lazily beside her while she faced the mafia boss hooked on every line, not caring about the brunette running fingers through her hair as he listened himself.

They took her to festivals and gave her a joint birthday between the mafia and agency every year. They took her out to places just in general from destination to 'patrol'.

They raised her.

They loved her.

And yet...and yet...

At the sound of a gun cracking through the air Yukiko stopped trying to resist the power of the ability holding her down. The uncontrollable gut reaction to force herself more into the ground taking over at the scene before her. Eyes turning to large blue crystals. Body stilling to where not a single tremble rocked through her system, fear of moving keeping her still. The fear coming from the irrational yet instinctual thought that if she moved she'd be spotted and likely targeted next. Yukiko's unique special ability, The Temple of the Red Pavilion, was was one based around the concept of manipulating space by way of spatial slicing. While this was true the fifteen year old's gift also gave her what she liked to refer to as the logical bonus of sorts to sense her surroundings within a certain radius around herself. If asked to compare it to something, the teen would say it was a lot like how No Longer Human was always active even without her dad calling on it. Or how For The Tainted Sorrow let the mafia boss stand on ceilings, walk on walls and float in the air. That was how the copper haired ability user knew this women, Chūya had called her Yuan, was a member of the Sheep. That sudden murderous intent polluting the air making her feel like someone was slowly squeezing every ounce of breath from her lungs had been what instinctively kicked her feet into high gear from outside the hotel's front enterance where she had been waiting for her parents.

But this? What that same bonus to her ability was making her feel a split second before the gunshot pierced the air, quickly followed by a string of cursing? The normally spirited tempermental teen falling utterly silent while trying to swallow back the lump that had formed in her throat while watching the three adults before her.

"That was a warning shot.", said Dazai in a even tone above the ranting. All the while keeping his eyes trained on the women along with the firearm in his grip, "It would be a shame to waste a source of information just because she was being stubborn. That and getting intel from a corpse isn't nearly as easy as a living person." Brown eyes narrowed...their quarry had fallen for the trap faster then even he had expected. He'd anticipated and prepared for the fact that whoever Sheep sent would at least hesitate a little to take the obvious bait. Here he and Chūya had just started paying for the family's room at the reception desk when it was time to put the plan into full swing. The gravity manipulator practically dragging him out of the hotel lobby soon as Yukiko took off down Suribachi City's semi-busy streets. Luckily Chūya recalled all the back ways around the crater-city from his time as a member of the gang and they had not changed to the point of throwing them off over the years. Especially since these guys weren't messing around it appeared. But, then again, Double Black wasn't quite messing around either.

Yaun dug her teeth into her lower lip cutting off her string of poor language mid rant. The pink haired women clutching at her left upper arm where the detective's bullet had grazed her. It may have only grazed her but that didn't lessen the shock or pain. A bullet based injury was still a bullet based injury after all and hurt just the same. Red soaked through her fingers into the fabric as she turned towards Dazai eyeing him for a moment until recognition set in. Steps faltering slightly as she took in the brunette's arrival. Then looking back over her shoulder at Chūya, "Ah I see...figures. So this guy is the reason you left the Sheep for the Port Mafia. Now love at first sight makes more sense, especially why you ignored me."

"You can try to bait me all you want Yaun but you're wasting your breath. Tell us where Shirase is and I'll kill you quickly.", said the copper haired ability user keeping his eyes locked on the the women between him and his partner. The red energy that acted as thentell tale sign of the boss's ability starting to surround him.

The Sheep women's smirk grew at the warning as she shook her head in apparent disappointed hurt. Then lifting her arms up shrugging her shoulders Yaun slowly, steadily, walked towards the copper haired man as though she wasn't out numbered or out skilled by an enemy. Rather each step held a cocky confidence that would make most in this situation uneasily back away with each step she took towards them. Most except for the gravity-manipulator the women was walking towards. "Sorry Chūya.", the man's name stressed with clear purpose, "But I'm afraid I'm not entierly sure enough to divulge that kind of information. See after your..." The pink haired women stopped temporarily to glance back at Dazai over her shoulder before continuing, "...lover over there and his Port Mafia Dogs attacked us after our little disagreement things took a turn for the worse for us. I mean we were still just a gang of kids after all and you were the only one of us with a Gift. You were our leader. We trusted, no more like depended on you and you abandoned the Sheep for some demon in black and covered in bandages. On top of that we were now all traumatized after whitnessing the slaughter of our only willing protectors and scattered in fear." The pink haired women stopped beside the hat-wearing man leaning into his side none too slightly looking at him with a hurt expression.

Yukiko swore silently she heard a finger pull back half way on the trigger of a firearm. The sound of a gunshot didn't perice the air again though.

"Shirase called me Sheep's problem and stabbed me with a rat poison-laced knife. Then you all turned the firing squad on me.", said Chūya jerking his shoulder in a rough twisting motion to toss off the clinging women. Damn Dazai and his stupid plans no matter how well thought out they were. It was taking everything the Gifted had to not grab Yaun and crush her into ground right there and then. Not that just anybody could tell this was his internal struggle at the moment...aside from his silent still armed ex-partner. His ex-partner who was clearly, to the mafia boss, struggling himself to keep from releasing another bullet for his own plans sake. 'Almost.', he wanted to say, 'Keep your shit Mackerel. If I am so can you, just a little longer.' "Guess you guys really miss me if you decided to use the same method as your calling card to lure me out. Though you seemed to have missed a small detail.", said the former Executive, "Theres only one bastard that can escape gravity and nobody in Sheep is him."

The look Yaun's face twisted into at her father's words sent a cold chill through the fifteen year old's body. A flash of blood red eyes flashed before the young ability user's mind's eye turning her blood to ice. Why? Why the hell was the wannabe mafioso thinking about her now?!

"Still hes eagerly waiting for you and he isn't the only one, but will be the last one. Power or not, most living beings can not escape death no matter how hard they try.", said the pink haired women.

Chūya's hand twitched at his side as he watched the Sheep member's movements.

"Not even a god in a human shell..."

Everything happened so fast. Much too fast for the fifteen year old to follow let alone react to in some sort of manner. All that Yukiko was able to make out was one moment the Sheep women and mafia boss were exchanging a few words, the next the world seemed to stop spinning. The three adults in front of her seemingly suspended in mid air as time slowed to a painful crawl in pace. Eyes locked on a grinning unarmed Dazai standing between Chūya and the lunging women who'd been taunting the copper haired Gifted not a moment ago. Liquid crimson staining the ground while it steadily soaked into the dark dress jacket further darkening it from around the knife blade.

"DAD!"


	9. If Thats How You Wanna Play It Im In

**EDIT; Age issue with New oc fixed!**

* * *

_**"Hey there Chuuuuyaaa!~ You look like you're in a bind."**_

Time slowed.

_**"Why are you here you piece of shit? You want to join the festivities and kill me too?"**_

All around the copper haired fifteen year old everything came to an abrupt painful grinding halt.

_**"Mori sent me with a message. He wants me to officially invite you to be a member of the Port Mafia."**_

She couldn't scream though it was right there on the tip of her tongue waiting to be released.

_**"In return for saving my life, is that it?"**_

She couldn't breathe.

_**"Ugh I really don't care what you choose, I'm just here for the blood bath. Mori is a pretty demanding employer. The moment I joined the Port Mafia, he put me in charge of the army. Now that two of our enemies, the GSS and the Sheep, have formed an alliance we have to shut them down before they become completly coordinated. If I do my job, by noon today they'll all be dead."**_

Was she breathing still?

_**"You'd actually hurt those kids?"**_

She couldn't hear herself scream, let alone think about if she was still breathing or not. But her lungs burned as though they were on fire.

_**"Our policy never changes. That being said there is one other possibility. If someone familiar with the enemy asked me not to go through with it, I would take that under advisment."**_

Her legs were useless...she knew this. But still...

_**"Someone on your team you mean."**_

She totally forgot about For The Tainted Sorrow's hold on her. Not that it mattered because the crimson glow of the gravity manipulating ability was long gone from her form.

_**"Right. A fellow colleague in the Port Mafia. I could trust the suggestion of one of my own."**_

She pushed herself stumbling to her feet like a child just learning to walk the short distance between her parent's outstreached arms.

_**"So you wanna make a deal. You really are the devil."**_

Blood.

_**"Don't forget though, that I won those games we made bets on together. You'd be working for me in this organization and I have every intention of working you to the bone."**_

There was blood everywhere. Her eyes easily finding and zeroing in on every small speck of it splashed around the scene like slopped paint on a canvas.

_**"I'm going to tear you to shreds one day!"**_

Blood was splashed accross the ground.

_**"I like that look in your eyes. Like a wild beast."**_

Blood was pooling soaking into the dark jacket of the brunette detective's mafia-black attire. More so when a hand removed the offending blade tossing it aside to press a pair of black gloves there to the wound.

_**"Just don't kill the children."**_

She was far too panicked to realize that not all the blood spilled was that of her father.

_**"Very well. Listen up everyone! As we discussed earlier, none of the kids are to be harmed!"**_

She was too panicked to notice the tactical military-grade combat knife being flung away to the side.

_**"I see. He knew this was going to happen and planned accordingly. It all started when he made that phone call at the arcade! He purposefully did that in front of my people to spred doubt. That damn son of a bitch! If thats how you wanna play it...I'm in!"**_

She didn't register the audible cracking sound of shattering bones as Chūya delivered a swift kick to the limp form of Yaun, sending the female member of Sheep careening back into the opposing wall of the delapadated building. A thin trail of blood droplets arching through the air in the wake of the body. The man had sliced the women's artery after all. It was almost an instant death. The teen ignored Chūya's use of her parent's affectionate name for her. His constant calling trying to get her attention to snap her out of her state of panic falling repeatedly on def ears. She was too far gone into her head now kneeling beside him and Dazai after running, almost tripping more like it, over to the two men. Wide eyed...chest rising and falling rapidly with each fearfull gasp of breath...small body shaking like mad...

Yukiko stopped trembling.

She stared down at the hand which had taken her own in its grasp. The teen's body relaxing as if by instinct at the touch which, unlike how it was on the trip over, was purely soft. Gentle. Understanding. It wasn't the kind of touch that one would expect from the traitorous ex-Executive. It wasn't the kind of touch that one would expect from a man who seemed like he was almost more at home in the casual street clothes that seemed to fit him oddly very well, then his typical elegant dark mafia clothes. Yet it was a touch that was equally as far from foreign to her from both men just the same. _'It's alright. Rest now Chibi.', _the touch always seemed to communicate just like now. The young ability user's surroundings started coming back into focus thanks to that touch. "Dad-", the girl started trying to choke out and give voice to her thoughts but failing. The detective was still bleeding from the stab wound in his gut after all and she had no idea what to do, but watching Dazai die in front of her was not an option. Why'd he have to take the women's attack for Chūya? The boss of the Port Mafia could have easily handled the Sheep member's assult...he stopped showers of bullets and was capable of uprooting entire buildings for the love of all things! So why? Why had Dazai gotten in the way of the attack as he had? "Dad-"

"Outside. Now.", said Dazai cutting accross his daughter not giving her room to argue the matter. Because she would he knew. His voice was level, low and firm... words being unmistakable as an order as opposed to request. Yet the privet investigator's eyes were more along the lines of just melted chocolate as they looked up at the fearfull teen fussing over him. His thumb running over the top of her hand as an attempt at reassurance that he'd be alright. Because he would...sort of...he'd survive the injury from the Sheep women but his ex-partner's retaliation for his plan? Weather or not the ability user survived that remaind to be seen.

She looked hesitant. It seemed like at first that Yukiko wasn't going to heed the agency member's instruction to leave and wait outside the condemned building. At a glance she clearly didn't want to leave the two men with hand curling into fists in frustration at her internal dilemma. The fifteen year old didn't want to leave Dazai's side. Not after almost loosing him once already to those flames that reduced their car to liquid metal in seconds. It took another hand coming into her line of sight seemingly out of nowhere to rest accross the detective's chest for the hesitant teen to be completly knocked from her stupor. Dazai then shifted, or rather someone shifted Dazai, causing Yukiko to look from one black-clad man to the other sitting behind him.

Chūya had moved the suicide prone ability user so that the brunette man was now sitting more up right in his lap. Dazai's back pressed braced against the more patite man's torso, his free hand gripping almost white knuckled onto the arm that rested accross his chest. The blue-eyed gravity manipulator leaned forward and, despite his smaller stature, somehow curled up protectivly around the detective managing to rest his head on the other man's shoulder. Legs came up bent at the knees so feet were flat against the floor making him look like a prepared spring just in case an unwelcomed guest arrived. This way Chūya could leap out of harms way dragging his ex-partner with him considering his ability wasn't working with them in physical contact thanks to No Longer Human's nullification. Though there was no way he'd relinquish his hold on the former Executive just to use his own Gift. The other hand held pressure to the knife wound in Dazai's abdomen in an attempt to slow the bleeding there. _'It'll be fine so don't worry. We've been doing this crap for awhile. We've got this...your idiot dad and me.'_

The copper haired fifteen year old felt the detective's thumb ceasing it's calming action on the back of her hand as bewildered understanding dawned on her. The teen still didn't want to leave her dad's side any more then she had yet wiggled her hand reluctantly out from under Dazai's. If just to test her thoughts if nothing else. And sure enough its place was immedietly taken over by the hand resting over the brunette's chest in no time. Yukiko blinked while watching the boss's fingers curling to intertwine with the brunette agency member's naturally. As if by instinct or tons of practice. Both men totally calm, even with one of them bleeding out in the other's lap thanks to a wound that could still turn fatal from the enemy. Chūya sitting there on the floor of the building hunched over protectivly wrapped around Dazai like a living shield of sorts. Meanwhile the possibly dying man was reclined almost casually in the more patite man's lap as though he was reclining in the front seat of the Lambo again.

Why? How?

How were the two men able to remain as they were with the possibility one of them could die and the other could be watching said man die in front of him? Did the two ability users not love each other after all? Even if they didn't, surely they'd do something with their daughter there watching. Right? The two wouldn't subject her to watching as a spectator while one of them died. Right!? The fifteen year old was about to speak up again and urge the gravity-manipulator to get the taller man to a hospital or back to headquarters somehow when-

"So this time there is a casualty. At least you didn't call me all the way out here for nothing this time Dazai.", came a female voice accompanied by the clacking sound of heels on cement.

Yukiko froze. She knew that voice...she'd only heard it every so often but she knew that voice just the same. Whipping her body around forgetting about her parents for the moment, the young Nakahara's eyes turned to blue disks. A women dressed in a white button up blouse with puffy sleeves that end in the middle of her forearm was the one who'd spoken up breaking the surrounding silence. Her shirt tucked into a plain black skirt that flared out above her knees. Black goves that reached past her wrist, a black tie, and black tights accompanied the ensamble. The entire look being finished off with a pair of high red heels and a golden butterfly clip on the side of her dark bob.

**Armed Detective Agency Investigator and Physician: Yosano Akiko**

**Ability: Thou Shall Not Die**

Meanwhile a second figure stepped out from behind the new arrival into the teen's line of sight. Another feminine form that was just as familiar, though smaller and more cheerfull then the adult she accompanied. Long loose locks as bright as her own but pink in color, held back out of her face with a pair of cartoonish hairclips. On the left side a cute black and white tiger face. On the right was clipped a X made from two crossed black feathers. Her clothing consisted of a simple black straight skirt that stopped at the middle of her thighs. Her top was a white button up shirt with a corset-like simple black piece bodice over it, all accompanied by a long sleeved white jacket trimmed in black bearing a custom made 'ADA' pin over the right breast on her chest. Feet rocking back and forth in black ballerina flats, matching silk-like ribbons wrapped up about her ankles into expert bows.

**Armed Detective Agency Affiliated: Nakajima Emily**

**Ability: Hope Is The Thing With Feathers**

* * *

**HAPPY LEAP YEAR GIFT! You all will be getting a special 3 for 2 special for Febuary-March thanks to this Leap Year! I'm working on the next chapter now.**

**Watched Fifteen during this little poece of writing...fun times... Anyway this is written slightly differently but ah well...I like. The bold italics are from the third episode in season three called Only A Diamond Can Polish Another Diamond.** **Also ag****ain NOT as planned BUT this was neccessary. Plus I decided to save the big fight for Soukoku vs Shirase. I also changed their car from a Tesla to a black Lamborghini because wholly heck! It is a beautiful car!~**

**Yeah I was able to reintroduce another Cannon...this one a member of the agency! Oh and the new oc! Muahaha! Try to guess her rl counterpart! Her last name will tell you the father and her real author counterpart will point you at who her mother is!**


	10. Putting Meassures Into Place

_"Sir. I don't believe that would be very prudent. This boy is dangerous."_

_"I have meassures in place."_

_-Rondo warning Mori against having him release the boy from his ability-based restraints, and Mori refusing_

_Dazai, Chūya, Fifteen Years Old_

* * *

**Armed Detective Agency Affiliated; Nakajima Emily**

*****Ability; Hope Is The Thing With Feathers**

"Yukiko.."

No response.

"Helloooo! Earth to Yukiko Nakahara-Dazai, Ms. Port Mafia! Anybody home in there!?"

Still the copper haired teen made no acknowledgement of the younger girl trying to get her attention.

"Peel-"

"DON'T!" The reaction was reflexive. It wasn't something Yukiko meant to happen, it just did when the teen heard the name spoken with an unfamiliar voice. Nobody was allowed to call her that. Her family in the mafia upper echelon shortened her name affectionately to 'Yuki'. Her parents called her 'Chibi' because she looked like a miniture female version of the underground boss. But that name? That particular name which she both despised and sent unwelcomed shivers along her spine? The lowest grunt knew better then to dare to utter that name while addressing the boss's daughter and here the future detective did just that. Yukiko's grip tightened with warning around the pink haired girl's wrist causing her to try shrinking back in realization of her mistake. But the wannabe mafioso only pulled the twelve year old ability user closer to her by yanking her arm upwards above the young girl's head. "Don't-", Yukiko's voice was dangerously low as she glared at the pinkette, "-use that name. Understand Em? I don't care if you let it slip or not, no more using it or we will see just what dad has taught you so far."

The pink haired young girl nodded her head vigerously staring wide eyed at the sudden switch the teen's mood took. All because of a name too. "I-I'm sorry Yukiko, really! I promise I won't call you that ever again!", said Emily biting back the bit about only wanting the older girl's attention. Yukiko had been staring at Yosano treating Dazai accross the room all spaced out and silent for the past minute or so. Everything else had failed to get the copper haired Gifted's attention so she thought why not try calling her 'Peel'. Yeah...bad call on the girl's part. Very bad idea indeed.

"Chibi?"

Yukiko's grip on the young girl instantly loosened at the voice of the azure eyed gravity-manipulator, thus letting the pinkette drop to the ground. "It's nothing Boss!", she called back to the man quickly trying to cover her rash action. Not only would she never have peace again but daring to attempt harm on an ally, even an unofficial untrained one, was asking for punishment. Blue locked on blue over the distance of the room before the teen noticed Chūya's attention be called back to her dad by the male detective himself. Though the feeling her dad's attending doctor also had at least half her attention on her remaind. Looking away from the three adults as Dazai lowered his ex-partner's hand from his lips, Yukiko fell back against the wall that should have crumbled under her weight but didn't. Eyes now turned back on the Gifted who'd accompanied the good doctor with a questioning weary look, "Why are you even here? Either they have no idea you're here or your parents have gone nuts letting you come to a place like this. And without them. You're still just a brat." The copper haired teen crossed her arms over her chest while her nerves did their best to settle down again from the sudden jolt of aggression. From the occasional reports she'd caught Dazai giving in conversation with the mafia boss when asked on the kid's progress, his future apprentice was coming along but was nowhere near combat ready. Plus there was the fact Emily wasn't even a teenager yet...soon but not now...let alone an agency member. If anything the pinkette could be considered an intern with a few simple office-based tasks on her daily to do lists.

The future detective took a small step back from the older girl eyeing her carefully. A bit of fear still behind her faintly purple-tinted green eyes as she watched the fifteen year old. Hand rubbing her now freed wrist. Face warped into that of a pouting child at Yukiko calling her a brat and questioning her presence, a burst of confidence rising in her. Hand on her hip, "For your information I'm twelve now, not a little child and definetly not a "brat"! The President and mom and dad are just being stubborn about letting me handle cases! But I still do desk work so I'm still working for the agency thank you!", she huffed.

The Nakahara snorted closing her eyes unconvinced, "You sure sound like a brat to me."

The little girl whirled on the mafia affiliated girl, "Am not! For your information meanie, I'm here because Dazai called Yosano a little while ago saying he'd need her help and expertise! My wings are much faster then a car, so I brought her!" The pinkette brushed a lock of her hair from her eyes with a expression of superiority on her face. "You're welcome for saving your dad's life! All you could do was stare!"

That hit a nerve...again. You'd think after nearly being sent pinned to the ground that the not-yet Rookie Detective would know to tred more carefully with her words around the wannabe mafioso. Luckily for Emily that the copper haired young ability user wasn't stupid enough to try and put a certain weretiger detective in the same position as Dazai was currently in. Aside from not suicidal enough to take on a much more experienced combat orianted Gifted, there was said dad and her uncle's reactions to consider. Death would quite possibly be a welcomed alternative. So instead the fifteen year old steeled herself forcing her emotions down as best she could manage to seem totally neutral. She couldn't let the kid inside her head or nothing would work as hoped. No matter how hard it was turning out to be at the moment. "Please. All you did was bring the person that is saving dad's life, you didn't do anything yourself to save him though. And to think I've been lectured about my atitiude. But-", Yukiko paused a moment on purpose to let some curiosity build in the Nakajima offspring, "-if you're really not a kid as you brag about then why not prove it? Anybody can do desk work but only a REAL detective can handle a request from a client...I'll even pay you for it if I have to. Provided you can actually pull it off which I seriously doubt." Yukiko opened her eyes to the satisfying sight of a pair of wide purple-tinted green staring at her with their full willing attention. This manipulation thing was almost too easy as long as you had half a brain to know just who you were trying to influence. Too bad there was no way this sort of tactic would ever work on the adults the copper haired Gifted knew. Still maybe this was a tactic that was well worth exploring in the future depending on the situation and who the blue eyed fifteen year old was dealing with.

Emily blinked titlting her head at Yukiko like a curious bird. "A job? For me?", she asked forgetting their little arguement.

The young space-manipulator nodded in confirmation, "Yeup and it's a job only you can do Em."

"What is it?", asked the pinkette just as eagerly as Yukiko was hoping she would be to hear her out.

Grinning at the sucess her plan was bringing without much effort on her part, "It's something any apprentice of Dad's could do. It would be a little more of a pain if Dad was around but there is no way hes going to leave Boss's side, so you should have an easy time of it." A mischevious spark lit up behind the azure orbs as the teen's voice dropped just in case they were overheard. "I need information both Boss and Dad refuse to give me but I bet the Armed Detective Agency has or can get their hands on. Firstly I need information on Leech...where she is...what she is doing...is she alone or did she go with a squad for back up...that sort of thing. Secondly I need you to remember this spelling A-R-A-H-A-B-A-K-I and bring me as much information, any information, you find on him." Something wasn't right and the female ability user had no idea if it was the lack of phone call when the setting sun was streaking the sky above Suribachi City in vibrant hues of pinks, oranges and yellows. OR if it was the fact she felt like her parents were opting out of certain details essential to this case surrounding Sheep and Arahabaki. Perhaps it was both who knew. But one of her earliest lessons was, aside from violence, the mafia's true nature was to manipulate their surroundings by any means they could use. Well Emily Nakajima was part of the fifteen year old's surroundings, and it wasn't likely the timing would be more perfect to launch her own investigation on her matters of interest.

While the odd spelling didn't catch the pinkette's attention all that much, the first topic caught quite a bit of her attention. It wasn't something Emily would ever expect to hear from the teenage mafia member after all. Not the information part but who she wanted information about. Blinking, "You...want me to find out information on her?", Emily asked incredulously not buying that she had actually heard Yukiko's request correctly. Of all the people her teacher's daughter could want information on, to say this was unexpected was down playing things. "Did you screw up? You always know what shes up to.", said the girl still trying to mentally process the request.

"If I knew what she was up to I wouldn't go through the trouble of asking you to get information on where she was. I'd just go there and kick her ass myself.", Yukiko pointed out with a sigh shaking her head. The copper haired girl momentarily lifted her eyes from the younger girl watching the trio of adults a ways away from them. The agency doctor's expression she couldn't see thanks to her back being towards them, but it looked like Yosano was stiching up her dad's side. Black coat pushed aside out of the way and shirt cut around the injury site for easier access to the wound itself. Yukiko was worried to look at Dazai, knowing how much he claimed to hate pain and having a needle threading your skin together was bound to at least uncomfortable. But the detective didn't seem to notice even discomfort and the reason? If the young teen had to guess? More then likely it was due to the man all but wrapped around him keeping the brunette talking. "Look can you back up your words or not Em?", asked Yukiko turning back to the pinkette, "Normally she'd call me with a stupid rant about whatever the boss had her doing for the day but an earlier incident left my phone crushed. Without a way to communicate I need to find a new way to check in with the bloodsucking psychopath."

The Nakajima kept her attention on Yukiko mulling over the brightly colored haired teen's words silently. Both girls stayed in silence for the next several minutes while Emily thought about her decision, something which the Nakahara seemed more then patient about allowing her to do, until both their names were called effectivly braking it. The female doctor had finished treating the young girl's future mentor and was calling them both over. Turning briefly to the mafia member, "Alright I'll do it. I'll get you the information you want, but you can't tell Dazai or mom and dad about it or I'm saying you put me up to it okay? Mr. Katai gave me a few basic hacking lessons...how hard can it be?"

Yukiko couldn't help the look of triumph on her face, "Then consider yourself hired Em. I'll be waiting." Blue eyes drifting back towards her parents as Yosano and Chūya helped Dazai to his feet.

'When I find you, you'd better still be alive Leech. I'm gonna kick your ass for making me feel this way again damn psychopath.'

* * *

****Hope Is The Thing With Feathers

Based on one of Emily Dickinson's(who is Emily's real inspiration) most famous poems called "Hope" is the Thing with Feathers, this ability lets Emily take on the traits of a Tengu. A Tengu being a legendary creature in Japanese folklore, often depicted as a Yokai or a supernatural being. Once labeled as disruptive demons and messangers of war, their image softened over time to more protectors (though still dangerous) of forests and mountains. Though she doesn't have much control over it as a whole, for a child Emily has remarkable control possibly due to being a part of the agency though still only allowed to do desk or office work. Though Dazai has already begun helping the girl with her ability training her control of it.

Hope Is The Thing With Feathers lets Emily transform herself into a avain being, from a full fledged giant black crow with a pink sheen to her feathers to just her arms to wings or nails to talons and so on. The partial transformations being more common for the girl. Emily rarely uses the full transformation due to her lack of control meaning it only lasts for several minutes and has only been known to use it once every 24 hours. Her ability also grants Emily the capability of flight using her wings as well as enhanced senses such as: sight, endurance, strength, reflexes, stamina, agility and coordination.

**Sort of short transitionary chapter... This chapter was called "Putting Meassures Into Place" because there are some schemes that are put into effect. First is obviously Dazai's with having lured out Yaun and the call he made in the car being revealed as him warning Yosano they'd need her. (We will also see some Soukoku's evil planning and the whole reason they have their daughter along for this crazy ride by the end of this unless you uys can figure it out.(Their idea of a family vacation lol.)) Plus we start to see Dazai has rubbed off on Yukiko as Chuya has. Though mostly loyal, loud and brazen and leap before acting as her papa, she has a bit of a dark side from the Demon Prodigy that we get glimpses of from time to time from here on through the rest of the fiction. ****Also yes I put AtsushixLucy here with Emily. Sorry Shin Soukoku fans, but personally I dont see these boys being in love with each other (and has nothing to do with how cute Higuchi is around Akutagawa lol!).**


	11. You Think Pairing Us Together Is Wise?

_"Dazai, I have an order for you. Before the previous Boss's staunch supporters catch wind of that message, find the one responsible. Understood?"_

_"Will I be working by myself? It seems time may be running out."_

_"You won't be alone. Chūya will be there to assist you in your mission."_

_"WHAT!?"_

_"ABSOLUTELY NOT! Why in the world would I have to work with that little punk!?"_

_"You wanna run that by me again? I'll beat the shit out of you kid!"_

_"Stop acting like you're older then me! You're still a kid! A very small one at that!"_

_"Why you-!"_

_"You really oughta drink more milk, it might help you get bigger!"_

_"Lay off about my size jackass! I'm only fifteen! I'm still growing!"_

_"Thats enough from both of you! Chūya, I trust you understand you're in no position to refuse my orders. You to Dazai. If the boss's supporters discover the truth, as my accomplice you will surely be tortured. Death will not be swift."_

_"You really think pairing us together is wise?"_

_"I have a number of reasons for doing so. Interviewing whitnesses will be far easier if done by an outsider. Chūya also has to be monitored in case he tries to betray us and the rest...is a secret."_

_-the birth of Double Black 'Soukoku'_

_Dazai, Chūya, Fifteen Years Old_

* * *

**Not originally as planned again BUT I had to post this chapter because I love it too much. Also this next chapter is looooooooooong with a toooon in it. While this is a quicky chapter because I didn't feel like putting this at the end of the last one. Trying to prevent overloading you all with too much. Enjoy! Think of this as the part at the end of episode 2 of the first season where we get a glimpse of Higuchi and Akutagawa before their big debut next episode.~**

The end of the cigarette burned a bright yellow-orange in color as the butt shrunk. Smoke rising into the air forming curling streams as he reclined back against the side of a building. Legs crossed and arms drapped over his chest minus the gloved hand holding the butt. The hat-wearing Gifted tucked away in the shadows of one of the allyways criss crossing all over Suribachi City...someplace he thought he'd never find himself again. Each darkened passage holding memories from his first eight years of exsistance as himself. As Chūya Nakahara. Not as some science experiment floating aimlessly sealed away with whatever the military was able to seal him away with. Then again he supposed he never expected a lot of things. Being a father, for one, or being partners with a certain sucidal maniac again at all let alone in every sense of the word. Yet both those once unlikely things were part of his new reality. A new brighter reality that was being threatened by his less then glamorous past...by this place and what it held in regards to murky secrets better left forgotten like they'd been for years.

"I ever tell you how good you look when you're actually trying to use that tiny brain of yours. And in your old colors to boot. I think I might feint."

It wasn't a question even though it sounded like one.

It wasn't a jest even though the words themselves said differently.

The voice was too low. It was too monotoned dripping with a combination of acid and liquid nitrogen to be joking around despite the otherwise playfull words leaving that silver tongue. It was a voice that would have sent everybody else scurrying for the hills. A voice that would have caused even the members of the Armed Detective Agency who the man called his friends and collegues to back up to the other side of the room. No doubt they'd draw their weapons or prepare to use their abilities, as useless as it would be ultimately, out of sheer reflex upon seeing this side of the man they thought they knew.

But not him.

The Demon Prodigy didn't scare Arahabaki.

Taking one last drag off the cigarette, the god let the remainder of his third favorite vice fall to concrete before being crushed under his foot. Picking up his head, narrowed blue zeroed in on the darkness across the alley where the all too familiar emotionless voice had come from. Most people could squint forever and never notice a thing. But the dark god wasn't most people. So for him picking out the subtly moving shadows within the darkness was child's play if that at best. "You're one to talk about old colors. You didn't have to be so dramatic and trade your brown for your black coat Drama Queen.", ice blue met old blood brown peering at him from the opposite darkness. There was a pregnant pause before, "I don't like this." He was of course talking of leaving the girl in their hotel room alone. Let alone by herself under such circumstances with nothing but a cellphone to contact them with. He could only hope they'd get lucky and the kid wouldn't wake before her parents returned again, which she probably wouldn't. The young ability user had been through a lot today both physically and mentally. Still he was enough on edge without worrying about Yukiko and he was worrying about her.

The demon quirked an eyebrow, "You'd rather she find out about you? That being said...are you sure about this? You did swear never to use Corruption again when she was born." 'And I'm not happy about it either.' went unsaid yet was silently understood between the two. That was something that had changed from that first twist of fate when they were nothing but loud mouthed runts shouldering superiority complexes too big for their bodies. What was once awe inspiring and fascinating to the demon, now left behind an emotion he still wasn't used to after all this time in his mouth. Fear. Anything that could take his god away from him was the only sort of thing which could successfully induce fear in him without fail.

His god though, of course, knew this. He also knew the demon was most fearsome when he was being effected by that very emotion and it was just wrong. The Demon Prodigy was FEARED not FEARFUL. Yet the times the personification of destruction saw that emotion in deep brown through his vessel's eyes upon waking after a display were burned into his memory. That pissed him off more then anything no matter how needed his power was. 'I know.' Sticking his hands in his pockets Arahabaki closed his eyes heading for the alley exit, "Yeah well I also swore my life to protecting her and the Port Mafia. Besides we're Double Black aren't we?"

The demon grinned smugly as the ancient entity passed him, the darkness shifting as he turned on his heel to follow. "That we are.", he said falling into synced steps at the god's side.

_'I have you, don't I?'_

_'Yes. Yes you do, always.'_

Arahabaki and the Demon Prodigy stepped out of the shadowed alleyway turning out onto the dark Suribachi City streets.


	12. Thanks To You The Mystery Is Solved

_"I'm sorry. You both wanted to hear that the former Boss wasn't resurected by Arahabaki, and that this was all an elaborate plan by a Gifted enemy."_

_"Not at all. It was certainly an interesting story. Its thanks to you that the mystery has finally been solved."_

_-Dazai announcing to Chūya and Rondo the case about Arahabaki and the previous Port Mafia Boss's return has been solved_

_God Of Fire_

* * *

**April's first chapter is...well...this is what happens when you have orders to stay home much as possible/are quarantined... Also steadily going through my BSD inspired library. Fun fact is No Longer Human is actually a pretty good book. Go figure. BSD Dazai definetly has more in common with Oba Yozo then the author Dazai though I think.**

How long?

How long had it been since she passed out?

How long had it been since her parents left her alone in their suite? The clocks in the room could have easily been changed to whatever time either man decided to make it after all. There was no relying on them.

The fifteen year old pulled the oversized tan trench coat tight around her slight frame. Senses hightened thanks to her power despite her currently wondering thoughts. Six things currently swimming through her mind. There were six things Yukiko was sure of as she ran through the dimly lit nighttime streets of Suribachi City, the once foreign settlement of much larger and pleasent Yokohama City:

Fact one was that the time frame was...well messed up was being kind. It was a total wreck which made no sense what so ever.

Second she'd been drugged by her parents.

Thirdly Leech, and the fact she'd gone dark, had something to do with this.

Fourth was whatever was going down was going down at the Suribachi City Docks tonight.

The fifth thing she was sure of was the Nakahara-Dazai Household didn't have a dog, let alone a Sheepdog.

And finally there was point number six, perhaps the most important point of all too. The sixth and final point was that Chūya Nakahara was Arahabaki.

* * *

_Several hours earlier..._

There were infinitely more worse things then being stuck in a car driving through the slums of Yokohama City which had been upscaled in the teen's fifteen years with members of the Armed Detective Agency. Or so was what Yukiko had decided to convince herself of. It made coping with the fact that was her current reality easier. Besides this particular car ride, in all seriousness, wasn't all that bad as the young ability user watched the pair sitting in the opposite seat of the luxery car. Instead of calling a cab, Chūya had called a Port Mafia driver to deliver the family to their hotel and the agency members back to their offices safetly. The man citing public transport was both too small and too dangerous for them to take. Yukiko was convinced it was so someone reliable could report back they were alright...minus her dad's planned wound though. Especially considering one of those concerned would undoubtedly be her Auntie Koi who always seemed to have an actual soft spot for her family. Or rather a soft spot for her and Chūya while understanding and accepting how much the pair of them needed Dazai, despite herself having not what could have called affection for the brunette man. Besides far from admitting to it the ability of the resident physician her dad worked with interested the young teen quite a bit. "Thou Shall Not Die.", said Yukiko eyeing the women sporting the golden butterfly hairpin in the seat beside Emily, "Thats the name of your ability right Doc Butterfly? Dad and Uncle Tachihara talk about you a lot but we've never talked before. Its a healing ability right?"

"Chibi.", came the warning from the hat-wearing man sitting opposite the agency women. The copper haired boss was leaning against the other window on Dazai's injured side. One gloved hand resting in a deceptivly calm manner on his lap, the other hanging in front of the detective's chest mindlessly tracing over the blue pendant clipped to his tie several times over.

Leaning forward as much as her seatbelt would allow the teen cocked her head at her father with a bit of an annoyed expression. "What?", the blue eyed girl asked innocently not actually seeing the issue that demanded a correction, "Its an honest question and its not like the organizations are fight-to-the-death enemies. You and dad saw to that. I was just curious about the Doc Butterfly's ability." She'd been talked to about this too more then once. This outright demand for information that people claimed wasn't her's to have, as well as abruptness with other Gifteds. But the Nakahara wasn't used to being denied information. Continuing on, "You won't let me go on jobs, you're always busy running Yokohama, dad spends his days at the agency solving crimes our people commit half the time to keep the balance and neither of you are finished until late at evening. What am I supposed to be doing locked up like a princess in a tower all day every day but analyze the abilities of every Gifted in the city? Did you know theres an ability user who can sniff out criminals and cause their 'accidental' death? Its supposed to be unavoidable but I think I could take him...if he is real anyway." An advantage to growing up in the Port Mafia and having causins in the special forces unit of said organization was intel. A constant stream of intel to feed her constant hunger for it. What was better was the fact that every bit of it Yukiko could count on to be perfectly accurate since their mother was Head of Intelligence. So Yukiko tended to know a lot more then she really should, considering she was a 'civilian member' or whatever that lame excuse her father had explained her position as meant. The only thing the fifteen year old liked more then fighting was information and gossip. Part of the reason why she spent so much time around her Auntie Koi and the Executive's Courtesans when she could. Though the knowledge the ability user's girls could obtain was somewhat limited but provided most minus the nitty gritty exact details. Still regardless of how Yukiko managed to obtain such information, the point still stood that the copper haired girl knew every Gifted and their ability in Yokohama City soon as they entered the city limits. So not knowing the exact extent of Thou Shall Not Die would not stand well with the teen.

Emily chuckled a bit at the nickname the other young girl gave to the agency member beside her. Though she was silenced pretty fast by the look of 'not helping' she recieved from said doctor.

Meanwhile the Port Mafia Boss sighed. This argument was not helping him when he was already tense thanks to his ex-partner being injured and his old gang on the loose hunting members of the organization which Chūya now ran. "How many times has Koyo told you in your lessons that just asking flat out like that about a person's ability is bad form? Aside from being a personal thing, it leaves you open to be manipulated.", Chūya explained using the familiar explanation as to why he was calling out the teen on her questioning Yosano. He could feel the man leaning against him shake a bit with amusement glad at least one of them was finding this entertaining. Though otherwise Dazai kept his eyes closed and mouth shut listening to the conversation.

"And the killer detective?", Yukiko prompted eagerly eyeing her father expectantly waiting for an answer.

"If Yukito Ayatsuji was real and the military police had him working for them, they'd set the Homicide Detective on your dad and me years ago. Since we're both still here I think it's safe to say someone has been listening to the rumors of Koyo's girls again.", rapping a finger on the center of the blue pendent at Dazai's tie, "I thought she had a talk with Etsu, Hatsumomo and Keiko about telling you crazy rumors and stories from work. Apparently they need another talking to. Damn you're just like your idiot dad." For emphasis on which one of them was the idiot, and to annoy his ex-partner in the process as a bonus, the mafia boss gave a quick rough tug on the brunette's bolo tie.

The brunette was prepared though, as Yukiko was sure she saw the man's lips twitch in fighting back a smirk. A grumbled "Not here. Be patient Slug, always so demanding." made the girl's father's face redden for reasons the wannabe mafioso refused to let into her train of thought. It would not be until later that the teen realized that blush was forced weather or not there was good reason behind it.

The teen herself meanwhile didn't need to let her imagination get away with her like that. No. Thank. You. That was the last place the copper haired teen wanted her mind to ever be. Instead Yukiko chose to refocus the topic of conversation on something a little more tastefull and civilized befitting their kept company. Looking back at her dad's co-worker, "Sooooo your ability then doc? Unless you like guessing games which I happen to be really good at."

"Ms. Yosano's ability is awesome and really rare even for ability users. Plus its super handy." A certain little crow chirped up taking it upon herself to answer for the female doctor. Emily turning her head to look at the women sitting beside her with a bright expression on her face. One of almost awe in all honesty. A lot like how Yukiko knew she often looked at her Auntie Koi...that look being just short of reverence. "Its a healing ability. Even though its not for fighting, its still really strong because it can heal anything by covering the injury in butterflys.", the Nakajima offspring explained as though she was proudly describing her own ability.

Yosano put a hand on Emily's head moving it back and forth to mess the younger girl's hair. The women smiled before looking away from the pinkette looking warmly at Yukiko, "Though it wasn't her question to answer, Em here gave you the right answer. My ability is as it sounds 'Thou Shall Not Die' is a healing ability that can take care of any sort of injury. Including healing my own wounds as well as somebody else's." An odd flicker came over the doctor. It was odd but not one that the copper haired wannabe mafioso was unfamiliar with, for it was one the male detective got in his eyes from time to time. "The drawback to my power is, in order for even my own wounds to be healed, the target of my power must have suffered fatal injuries."

"What if they aren't fatal then?", asked Yukiko cocking her head to the side, "Does your ability not work then and you can't heal them? I mean obviously you couldn't use your ability on dad because of No Longer Human right?"

A smirk, "If my patient is wounded but doesn't meet the conditions for my ability, then I either have to heal the old fashioned way without it or make them fit my ability's conditions so I can heal them." And just like that the odd look behind the butterfly hairpin wearing detective was gone. The women's attention ended up turning from daughter to father as she eyed Dazai, "Of course it would have been a lot easier to care for a certain someone if he removed the layers of cotton and gauze from around himself. I warned you about trying to help you with those still on Dazai."

"Come now Yosano, whats under them is one of the Seven Wonders of the Agency so wheres the fun in just letting everyone find out? Something had to replace my former profession. You all found it so easily thanks to Atsushi, luckily I think he forgot about the 700,000 yen reward.", the detective who was being talked about gave his co-worker a wide goofy grin and attempted chuckle. The chuckle didn't go over well because it pulled at his newly stitched side which in turn caused Dazai to cringe inward. However his brighter haired ex-partner held tight enough to him to keep the man from collapsing there in front of the hotel.

That and of course a warning glare from said other man was pretty helpful for persuading Dazai to cut out the shenanigans. "Would you shut up already you reckless scheming asshole? You're annoying forced laughter is going to rip open the doc's handiwork again.", the mafia boss harshly warned the dark haired detective.

Turning her attention to the one who reined in her co-worker, Yosano eyed Chūya from inside the car as though hesitating to leave the brunette in the other man's care. However this must have been out of simple concern for someone she worked with. For otherwise it appeared that the women had no intention of arguing with the teen's father who now supported Dazai. Oh the girl was sure the internal want was there but it was as if Yosano knew better. "Speaking of I'm guessing you know those bandages have to be changed soon as possible. The blood soaked through the bandages at the site of the stab wound and in all these years he hasn't so much as dropped a hint as to whats under those wrappings. I would imagine you'd have an easier time.", said the dark haired doctor pausing as though thinking what she was about to voice wasn't such a good idea. But the pause was merely a breif pause. "The president isn't going to be happy about this. Dazai should really go to the hospital to make sure there isn't anything more serious then what I stitched. If the knife managed to hit a vital location-.", she said giving both the young Gifted's parents a pointed look.

The wannabe mafioso could have sworn she saw Dazai stiffen and him moving closer to her father almost seeking protection at the mention of going to the hospital. Though she could have also just been imagining things too.

Then again.. No less then a growl erupted from Yukiko's father and she swore he caught himself from completly bearing his teeth like a feral angry dog. "Tell Kunikida to kiss my ass. This suicide idiot was my problem long before he was the agency's. I can handle this bastard a hell of a lot better then any of you, or a hospital, ever could.", Chūya snarled before turning around starting to lead said bastard away from the car, "Chibi mind getting the elevator? Rooms on the fifth floor and I'm not dragging your dad up five flights of steps."

"So possesive and why not~~~~!?", Dazai whined giving the gravity-manipulator the biggest set of puppy dog eyes and pouty lip combination Yukiko had ever seen him give her father before, "Still don't want to carry me over the threshold then? May I remind you we live together and have a daughter. You can't get more commited then that right? And after you claimed me to boot!~" And yet the brunette seemed to relax at the other man's words of refusing to hospitalize him despite Yosano's advice just the same.

"I will drop you and make you crawl to our room. Knock. It. Off."

"Sorry Slug. But messing with you takes my mind of my injury here which, by the way, is really uncomfortable. Maybe we should continue this little chat at the next meeting?", Dazai appologized quickly immedietly back tracking. Even with the sincere appology the black-clad detective still chuckled before looking at a watching Yukiko and winking mischeviously.

With a roll of azure eyes at her parents, the fifteen year old turned around to head for the automatic doors leading to the lobby of the Yokohama Bay Hotel Tokyu. Though she caught sight of Emily peeking around Yosano in the car window in the process. The wannabe mafioso ignored the Nakajima offspring though to continue through the elegant lobby to the automatic lifts. It was hard for her to imagine this part of town as real slums back in her parent's teen years. Even if this hotel was on the edge of the spherical crater-like city and the majority of the buildings here did look like they should be condemned, the city was better off then she had expected really. Call her crazy but the place as a whole didn't scream to Yukiko's particular defination of city slums. The guilded hotel really didn't help sell the image of this being a dangerous, less-then-pleasent place either. At least the girl wouldn't have to want for luxery on this messed up idea of a family vacation her parents dragged her on. A fact which still puzzled her by the way. Once the two men had made it to the elevator, their offspring poked the button whose number corresponded to the floor their room was to be on. Another several minutes later and the female ability user was leading the way into the family's suite.

Well it's title was hotel suite but it was more like a close copy of the family's penthouse apartment which topped one of the towers making up mafia headquarters. The entire room done up in soft shades of beige, gold and pale cream. Two large plush beds taking up the majority of the room with dark wooden bedside tables between them. Paintings of white camillas and roses on the walls with gold gilded frames. Soft cream carpetting. Panoramic wall of floor to cieling windows over looking the water to the lights of the main part of Yokohama on the other side. The red flickering lights of the top of Port Mafia Headquarter towers especially visible from the family's room. Two pale suade loveseats with matching foot rests near the wall of windows. A clear glass vase of bamboo sitting tall in a corner giving the room a touch of green. Soft golden glowing lamp light dimly lighting the room. Everything spoke of not an ounce of luxery was so spared or missed. Chūya's obvious taste for the glamorous, luxery and refined clearly evident even when supposed to be keeping low and in a less polished area of a location. "Papa's choice hunh?", wondered the copper haired teen outloud to herself before turning back towards the suite-penthouse entrance upon the blips of For The Tainted Sorrow and No Longer Human entering her radius. Sure enough her parents appeared in the doorway with the brighter haired man speaking in low tones to the man he supported. Speaking of... Crossing her arms, "You know, speaking of inconspicuous, I find it really weird that the receptionist didn't question why you were half carrying dad to the elevator like that Papa. Did dad hit on her or did you bribe her to keep quite when you guys checked us in? This isn't one of the organization's hotels." Even with her questioning Yukiko kicked off her shoes carelessly sending them crashing into the dark wood panaled wall near the bed close to the room door. The sandy trench coat was next as she started carefully peeling it off thinking of where she could hang it for the night. With it off, Yukiko drapped it over her arm making her way to the closet. Grabing one of the free hangers within the girl paused before turning around watching both men head for the bathroom. "And do you, uh, need help with dad?", she asked.

Kicking open the bathroom door when they reached it, "Thats because its not one of ours. This hotel actually belongs to the Fitzgerald Corporation, guess our staff aren't the only ones that know to keep their mouths shut.", replied Chūya adjusting his ex-partner carefully against him. Said ex-partner now apparently having given up on trying to keep up the act of still being able to do things since they were out of public eye. Or rather out of agency, and apparently guild too, notice. "Just bring me the duffle bag with your dad's name on it. It's going to be awhile, gonna have to undo all that useless doctor's handiwork and re do it. The wound was too big for what she could do...thats if I decide not to kill him myself instead."

* * *

"Papa." An image of Chūya flashed before the young teen's eyes. Crimson coming forward to outline her form as she ran through the Surbachi City streets. Her foot hit pavement causing it to brake out in a series deep gashes in the pavement. Her fist gripped tight around the suicidal detective's cellphone as she ran. The coat she'd been temporarily gifted billowing around her with each desperate step. The darkness of night not deterring her, rather wrapping itself around her much like a embrace from someone precious to her. Yukiko's family operated in and ran these moonlit hours. Being afraid of the dark when loved ones were watching your back from them was pointless. "Why!?", she growled while recalling the hastily typed text message her dad's phone had been opened to when she picked it up, "Why dad and the elborate plot though!?"

YOU PASSED OUT FROM EXHAUSTION HELPING PAPA WITH ME

NO NEED TO WAKE YOU, TAKING DOG FOR A WALK

BE BACK IN ROOM BY MIDNIGHT

PARTY AT 10:00, THE SURIBACHI DOCKS FOR THE SHEEPDOG

BE THERE AT 11:00

WE LOVE YOU

;) PAPA AND DADDY

The message glowed on the screen of the communication device locked in the teen's fist. It was nine o'clock at night. According to the text that was an hour before the so-called party and two hours before she'd been instructed to arrive at the docks. But the young space manipulator didn't care. Screw the detective's time guidelines. The Nakahara-Dazai offspring wanted answers and she was going to get them one way or another.

This case was going to be closed tonight one way or another.

***sigh* Dazai and his vague codes and games... All this to teach Yukiko a important lesson...**


	13. You Remind Me Of Someone

_"You remind me of someone..."_

_-Mori to Dazai before sending him to search for leads in Suribachi City_

_Dazai, Chūya, Fifteen Years Old_

* * *

It was warehouse number fifteen at Suribachi City Docks...if she recalled correctly. The glance she had caught of the aged roughly painted black number had been much of a blurr in her fury-driven stream of attacks before.

Warehouse fifteen at Suribachi City Docks at almost half past nine at night. Half an hour before the time Dazai left in his text and Yukiko was bent over breathing hard. She had no idea just how much ground she had just covered in half an hour. But considering the hotel was near the edge of the crater-city and she was now on the edge of the body of water that separated the former foreign settlement from the rest of Yokohama City? Her math wasn't great but it was undoubtedly a distance. Good thing her physical shape was decent, had to be to withstand the beatings she took from For The Tainted Sorrow in exchange for acting up on a near daily basis. Though not extraordinary it was enough that the teen managed to stay on her feet. Wobbly, yeah, but on her feet none the less and it would eventually pass. There was no need to brake in either, thanks to the place still being open after the earlier skirmish that took place here...the one where her parents took care of one of the pink haired Sheep Women called Yaun. The returning thought of the women pulled the teen's face down in a frown as eyes turned to azure pinpricks locked on the center of the warehouse before traveling to the opposite wall.

Soon carefull steps were echoing over the stone floor with each step towards the site of the earlier fight. The broken body of the women no longer occupying the space despite her being sure it was left behind. The space it should have landed after Chūya's kick sent it flying now empty. Bending her knees squatting to examine the location, the only tell-tale signs that there had been bodies here was a distinctive pool of now dry to the touch blood from her dad and the less neat splattering pool from the Sheep. The latter leading back in a gruesome trail towards the dented wall a ways away. Seemed as though the boss knew just how much force to put into his kick so that the body only damaged the wall instead of bringing the old place down. All in all Yukiko could see now that the apparent recklessness on display then wasn't really recklessness. It was reckless but not actual recklessness. Instead it was a carefully laied out plan curtesy of her dad's, as her father said before on more then one occasion, 'damned underhanded but reliable assery'.

_'We've got this, you're idiot dad and me.'_

_'Its going to be okay Chibi.'_

Finger tips touched the one cakey dried puddle stuck to the concreate flooring. Nails scrapped at the substance as if messing with chipping paint on the walls while her mind went back. "You held her in place so that Papa could deliver the decisive blow, all the while protecting him since he is Sheep's actual target. By doing that on top of ending the enemy swiftly, you planned further ahead still and called Doc Butterfly in the car earlier to handle your injury you knew you'd sustain.", Yukiko intoned low, "The hotel belongs to the Fitzgerald Coorperation which makes it the safest place here for me because theres no way the staff aren't also members of the Guild. You drugged me but left your phone...your dose was off though...did something happen? No. More like a certain someone tampered with the drug. Though its far more likely you didn't give me the full amount you brought along." The plan had been perfect down to the fact she wasn't given the full dose of whatever knocked her out. It didn't seem like a detail that was a mistake after all. If anything it was on purpose because her parents were afraid of the side effects of drugging their own daughter. Still...despite that everything went so smoothly. Chūya and Dazai's partnership and resulting teamwork had been flawless. A part of Yukiko doubted they talked long, if at all, about the plan instead of the copper haired boss entrusting every detail to the detective. It wouldn't surprise the fifteen year old Nakahara if that was the case quite honestly. At least not after seeing what she felt was one of her dad's simpler plans play out to every minor detail he'd anticipated as anticipated.

The two men did have this.

Their teamwork was flawless.

Their planning was perfect.

Their communication was silent yet effective beyond doubt.

And yet Yukiko's fingers scraped at the dried puddle of blood as her fingers curled inwards. "Their awareness could use some work.", the fifteen year old huffed under her breath cleaning the dried substance off on a clean part of the concreate. Drawing on her power and closing her eyes to concentrate, the girl righted herself straight again as crimson became visable around her body. "Special Ability. Temple of the Red Pavilion.", the copper haired teen intoned her ability. In an instant red ribbons swirled around her and her surroundings burst to life before her minds eye shrouded in the same vibrant color. Though the girl herself didn't move she was looking around the surrounding warehouse on the hunt for that presence she'd felt earlier. That all too familiar feeling from before which had held the young Gifted's attention before her parents showed up. It took a few seconds but when the fiercly bright human shape became illuminated she spun around on her heel in its direction, "There! Now quit hiding and get out here, damn cowardly sheep!" Maybe the young Gifted should have watched how much force she put behind her single attack like how her father controlled his kick. The copper haired fifteen year old hadn't had any intention of bringing down a section of the empty warehouse when she moved after all. That was going to be yet another lovely lecture for her to endure but more worrying about that later on. At the moment the young ability user had a much more pressing matter ro deal with as the point of light ran out from behind the rubble. So her target had actually managed to avoid the falling rubble then?

Even so he would not so lucky a second time.

'I don't have Papa or Dad's eyes that are so used to seeing in the dark. Especially not at this hour where the darkness only increases as the hours drag on.', Yukiko thought as the wall she had created to protect herself from the collapsing roof's debris cloud sunk back into the floor, 'But thats fine. I'll just use my ability to make up for the lack of light and this way he can't run. Besides I froze last time when I saw dad stabbed so this should handle that. I can't be caught by surprise if I'm not actually looking.' Turning her feet around in the light's direction, "Run all you want to but it'll do you as much good as hiding from me will! My ability is spatial slicing and it just so happens to come with the handy added effect of being super intune with my immediate surroundings! Not to mention the dimensional lines left behind with each attack! You could try blinding me, but it would be a waste 'cause I could still see you as long as I can use my ability! No strike that and lets say you're even worse off because-!" The Nakahara raised her foot before bringing back down onto the warehouse floor. Blood welled up in her mouth as teeth sunk into the soft rubbery flesh of inner cheek. The light point avoided colliding into her pair of barriers...but that was okay. Shifting her weight from her just used right foot onto her left, the copper haired girl gave that ankle a sharp half twist. Another barrier obeyed the motion and another evasive reaction from her target caused her frustration to mount. But this was okay. She was going to end this before either of her parents showed up this time around to interrupt for sure.

"-because of this feeling! Your presence is too similar to hers, in fact its almost identical!"

Yukiko moved her body along with the evading light moving around the edges of the building faster then a normal person. No normal person, at least without training, should be able to avoid her ability like this guy was. A normal person should have been crushed by that rubble right off the bat come to think of it. But yet this guy was bearly slowed by it. A sharp wrist movement upwards caused a red box to rise up from the ground right under the feet of the fifteen year old's opponant. "Why!?"

The guy slipped through her fingers by using the box as a springboard to launch himself into the air. But he couldn't dodge in mid-air like that.

"Tell me why that is!? Tell me just what do you Sheep have to do with Leech!?", the Nakahara demanded taking advantage of her opponant's hard to manuver properly from position. Another gesture and two boxes simultaneously came into being protruding from both the cieling above the wannabe mafioso's target and right under him. He was perfectly sandwhiched in the center of her attacks. "You've already could have killed Dad! You're hunting down Papa! If you've hurt her too I'll make you beg for death! I won't let you bastards take my parents from me, let alone her! So stay the fuck away!", Yukiko snapped as both barriers clamped down smushing their target between them. Just in the nick of time too. For the wannabe mafioso's surroundings quickly faded, which made her open bright eyes again to the world of the inside of the warehouse cast in night's darkness. Nothing around her was illuminated red light any longer as the copper haired teen's Gift deactivated. "Damn. Three times in one day? I might have overused my ability a little too much but I did it. I kicked ass...again. I knew I was ready to be a mafioso.", the Nakahara huffed proudly before dropping just catching herself on a knee instead of totally collapsing onto the cement floor. The sweet taste of victory gone just as quickly as it rushed the young Gifted's system as what felt like a massive weight dropped onto her body. Every limb felt heavy thanks to being drained of energy to move let alone fight again. Her parents were constantly warning her about overusing her supernatural powers but Yukiko never really took them to heart. The girl was used to seeing those of her family who had such powers use them all the time. Her uncle and father were prime examples, yet neither of the men ever showed a single sign of a drawback...of exhaustion. Yes they were trained proffesionals and used their abilities for the past however many years but still. Closing her eyes again letting herself fall back onto her butt, the young Nakahara offspring leaned forward staring at the place where the body of her opponant no doubt had dropped to the floor like a body out of a window. "I wanted to ask the guy about Leech but guess I just have to wait for Em's report on whatever she can dig up. Oh well. Doesn't matter 'cause I still w-"


	14. Why, Ourselves Of Course

**Edited! Sorry but I had to make some edits because the flow was low quality. The ending wasn't all that great either.**

_"Oh right. Whose this someone that I remind you of?"_

_"Myself of course."_

_-Dazai to Mori asking what he meant by he reminded the new boss of someone and Mori's answer_

_Dazai, Chūya, Fifteen Years Old_

**Quicky side note is only two more chapters to go for this arc before moving on to the second one! Whoohoo! I really have liked writing this introductory arc and setting things up, but can not wait for the next one! So shall we? This is another loooooonggie. I swear they get longer and longer...**

**Continuing from previous chapter...**

"Tell me why that is!? Tell me just what do you Sheep have to do with my Leech!?", the Nakahara-Dazai demanded taking advantage of her opponant's hard to manuver properly from position. Another gesture and two boxes simultaneously came into being protruding from both the cieling above the wannabe mafioso's target and right under him. He was perfectly sandwhiched in the center of her attacks. "You've already could have killed Dad! You're hunting down Papa! If you've hurt HER too I'll make you beg for death! I won't let you bastards take my parents from me, let alone her! So stay the fuck away!", Yukiko snapped as both barriers clamped down smushing their target between them. Just in the nick of time too. For the wannabe mafioso's surroundings quickly faded, which made her open bright eyes again to the world of the inside of the warehouse cast in night's darkness. Nothing around her was illuminated red light any longer as the copper haired teen's Gift deactivated. "Damn. Three times in one day? I might have overused my ability a little too much but I did it. I kicked ass...again. I knew I was ready to be a mafioso.", the Nakahara-Dazai huffed proudly before dropping just catching herself on a knee instead of totally collapsing onto the cement floor. The sweet taste of victory gone just as quickly as it rushed the young Gifted's system as what felt like a massive weight dropped onto her body. Every limb felt heavy thanks to being drained of energy to move let alone fight again.

Her parents were constantly warning her about overusing her supernatural power but Yukiko never really took them to heart. The girl was used to seeing those of her family who had such powers use them all the time. Her uncle and father were prime examples, yet neither of the men ever showed a single sign of a drawback...of exhaustion. Yes they were trained proffesionals and used their abilities for the past however many years but still. Closing her eyes again letting herself fall back onto her butt, the young Nakahara-Dazai offspring leaned forward staring at the place where the body of her opponant no doubt had dropped to the floor like a body out of a window. "I wanted to ask the guy about Leech but guess I just have to wait for Em's report on whatever she can dig up. Oh well. Doesn't matter 'cause I still w-"

* * *

Yukiko flew back only coming to a stop when her back slammed into the icy solid wall sending a shock vibrating up her body at the impact. It wasn't the most well timed or elegant of dodges, but it worked anyway which was more important then being visually pleasing. The fifteen year old was breathing hard, chest rapidly rising and falling with each attempt to draw breath again to her on fire lungs. The feeling in all her limbs gone as they were numb with fatigue. Yeup definetly over did her supernatural power. It was pretty hard to ignore when a dodge that should have been simple, ended up only knocking what little energy she had out and replacing it with pure adrenaline-fueled survival instinct was narrowly pulled off. Narrowly even here being generous. Yukiko hadn't moved until the literal last second which was normally unheard of for the copper haired girl. Her timing was useually much more advanced then that by at least a minute if not two. But here it had been poor to be kind. A side effect of being worn out? No. The copper haired ability user knew that wasn't the case in this slip up.

Her raised hand tightened around the right side of her neck as she stared out into the shadowy warehouse. Fingers holding carefull pressure to where she had felt the slight pricking just seconds ago to staunch any possible bleeding. Though the area didn't feel numb as expected. She must have cut off her opponant before the anesthetic could be injected, let alone let him get a step further to actually pull off his intent. 'That speed...surviving my attacks...his presence..my reaction...the fact he went for my neck..', thought the teen as pieces of understanding started to fall into place while the situation rearranged itself into a much clearer then before picture. The new information being mentally processed in real time causing more adrenaline to course through her vains. As impossible as it all seemed there was no doubt in the girl's mind her understanding of how an wannabe organization like Sheep could be so bold and confident as to think they could take down the man who ran Yokohama City. "I see. Papa failed to mention you were an ability user too.", said Yukiko as steady footsteps made their way in her direction, "I don't get how you could have this particular ability, but it makes sense as far as how you think you can kill him. Still. This is nothing compared to the power of a go-ehck." Her opponant had picked her up off the ground and pinned her back against a support beam by a fistfull of tie. Hands going up to grasp at the man's wintry clenched fist trying fruitlessly to pry his fingers open. The most that attempt did was probably leaving a few raised pink scratch marks if she managed anything at all against the man's firm grip. So giving up on her fruitless initial endeavor, Yukiko shut her mouth to switch her breathing through her nose to control it and keep conscious. As long as the mafioso wannabe didn't pass out she had power. The moment the teen was on the floor out of it though was the moment the Nakahara-Dazai was done for. The moment the teen was on the floor out of it was the moment the Port Mafia, no more like the city, was done for.

"So the rumors are true then. Arahabaki, the Port Mafia secret weapon turned new boss, went and had himself a little look a like. And a mouthy little one that apparently knows his true identity at that. At least it makes sense why he dragged you along after us because no real father would ever put their brat in danger...powers or not."

**Current Leader of The Sheep; Shirase Stoker**

*****Ability; Snowbound**

The man holding up the teen was the complete opposite of Yukiko's father in just about every way she could consider. Bearing the same worn old blue bracelet as Yaun had shown her, this particular male Sheep was tall, with deathly pale skin and visibly well built with toned muscle. His hair was a messy spiked fresh snow white, with arrogant grey eyes narrowed up at the fifteen year old from behind them. His clothing was rather simple for the boss of an organization, though she supposed Sheep was more like a ragtag gang from the streets then an actual proffesional organization like the Port Mafia who had standards to uphold. A tight fitting black shirt, dark jeans and a jacket were really all the dress code even a Gifted thug needed. His hand tightened it's grip on the front of the brightly colored hair teen's clothing which only restricted her airway more. The man was slowly making it increasingly harder to breathe. The gang leader angled his head laughing at the Nakahara-Dazai offspring he'd caught noticing she'd stopped struggling against him. "Looks like you've finally realized its hopeless to fight me? Took you long enough. You're just as slow on the up take and stubborn as your traitorous father is.", the girl's captor started to lean in towards her neck, "But don't worry too much, you still have a very important role to play."

Yukiko had had enough of these Sheep people with their constant insulting of the gravity manipulator by this point. Luckily this idiot was so sure of his victory that it made him far too focused on her face rather then dangling arms. True the young ability user didn't have the strength or energy to use The Temple of the Red Pavilion again today. The teen didn't have a firearm on her. But none of that neccesarily meant that the copper haired wannabe mafioso was helpless either. This time the Nakahara-Dazai vowed that timing wouldn't be an issue as hand slipped around to her back. The man was close. He was way too close for the fifteen year old's comfort making it take everything she had then just to stay composed. The goal of keeping the attention away from the hand searching her back keeping her mind settled much as could be managed right then. Course it got harder the closer he got to her. Her opponant's hot bitter tainted honey-sweet breath on the skin of her neck sending nausea twisting her stomach. Forcing bile down was not easy. "I-Important?", Yukiko chocked out.

The man, who Yukiko guessed by now to be the Shirase who wanted her caught alive just on him calling her 'important', sneered at his captive. "Twenty-three years ago we had a plan to destroy the Port Mafia by using Arahabaki's power. He was our leader. Our god. The one our enemies called The King of the Sheep, a ridiculous but I suppose true title. Everything was perfect back then. Everything was going to plan and our numbers swelled until we were finally a match for those mafia dogs.", the white haired man started explaining as his body became outlined in purple energy. The same sort of energy that was a tell tale sign a Gift was starting to activate. "We were all just a gang of streets kids that formed a network of support not much older then you. What you're fifteen? You're exactly the same age we were back then. We were kids with only each other for support living here in the slums and yet-"

'Almost there, just a bit more and I'll have it. Keep this guy talking Yukiko and don't let him bite you.' The teen's hands brushed cool smooth metal at her back but it slipped through her fingers. Holding in a curse the girl tried a second time. The wannabe mafioso had no chance of taking on Sheep's leader with absolutely nothing at all. Or so the Nakahara-Dazai tried to grab her target again, only for a high pitched scream to rip from her lips when Shirase pulled her away from the support beam to pin the young female Gifted to the floor. A move which, unknowingly to him, gave the blue eyed girl the room needed to get a firm grasp at the cool metal before pinning her arm between her back and the floor. The copper haired wannabe mafioso tasted iron knowing right away she'd bit her tongue well enough to cause some bleeding.

"-and yet we managed to become a threat to the Port Mafia. We held territory. We held a supply of artillery. Not bad for a group of street punks right?", moving the teen's head to the side out of the way Shirase continued, "But then HE came along. The damned boss of those dogs, Ogai Mori, sent out his own ever loyal equally screwed up pet to deal with ours. And that bandaged freak swooped in yanking our trump card right out from under us soon as we turned our backs." The pale haired ability user's voice devolved into a feral snarl that sounded more animalistic then human as he leaned in towards the girl a second time. Only this time around the man had her pinned to the warehouse floor with the entirety of his weight. It wouldn't have been a hard task for a normal full grown man to do, but one with a supernatural increase in speed and strength?

The Nakahara-Dazai's fingers circled around the familiar metal object she'd been reaching for this time. Now to just untrap her arm from between her back and the floor.

"-But now, thanks to you, after all these years we can finally finish what we wanted to do back then. You're just what we need to send him over the edge and bring Arahabaki to the surface to reign down sweet destruction all over the Port Mafia. Yokohama will be engulfed in black flames and burn to nothing, along with every single person in it. Nobody'll know what hit them. So shall we get started Tiny Arahabaki?"

"Thats three miscalculations."

The copper haired wannabe mafioso's timing was perfect this time around. Yukiko had waited until the tell tale sensation of smooth pointed canines lightly brushing the side of her neck to strike and succeeded. Bending her knee, the teen raised her foot before pistoning her foot forward while aiming her heel right for the lower part of Shirase's leg. Her plan worked. The near frozzen feeling man was sent leaping upwards forgetting about keeping his hostage pinned thanks to the knee cap shattering seven-hundred pounds of force which had been delivered unexpectedly to his leg. Thus Yukiko proceeded to take advantage of this momentary opening to untrap her arm. A flash later and the copper haired fifteen year old was free of the Sheep Leader a few feet away. One hand holding up an unfurled black metal fan bearing deep maroon petal-like details accross it. The other hand gripping the hilt of a knife whose blade was dripping blood onto the warehouse floor at the teen's feet. The fifteen year old let out a long breath to further steady her starting to calm nerves, "First of all...comparing me solely to Papa. Sure I'm maybe mostly like him, but everybody seems to forget the fact my name is actually hyphenated. I'm not Nakahara-Dazai just because it sounds cool."

"Why you little...", growled Shirase slowly righting himself as he recovered from the teen's unexpected strike, "Originally I wanted to take you alive as a hostage, but you may just be more usefull as a corpse. Yaun certainly was." At the mention of his former female teammate, the Gifted licked his lips while exposing the sharpened canines with a grin. A grin which was boardered by bright red lips that reminded the teen of her aunt's when the women did her makeup.

Yukiko made an unimpressed 'tch' sound through her teeth while raising the metal fan up to hide her face behind. Much more focused on the cut on the ability user's arm which was far too shallow, and the fact he'd endured her kick to the knee cap. No wonder he was able to withstand the barrage of attacks the fifteen year old had tossed at him a short while ago. The white haired man's Gift would afford him an increase in both speed and physical strength even surpassing a normal Gifted's enhanced skills. Especially if he'd fed on another person recently like she assumed he had on the pink haired women's body she'd crashed into earlier...just great. Blue eyes narrowed at the white haired gang leader who'd previously tossed her around the warehouse as if she were nothing but a ragdoll. Normally bright Yokohama Sea-colored blue eyes full of laughter and childish mischief, now dull blue shards of ice as they stared down her opponant. Sheep. And Shirase was their leader. He was after her father just because he joined her dad in the Port Mafia instead of staying with the gang that planed on using him as a means to destroy said organization and possibly the rest of the city with it. Yeah not something which was going to be allowed to happen if Yukiko had any sort of ability to fight back left. Cleaning the sides of the blade off on her arm, "Second was assuming my ability, Temple of the Red Pavilion, was only problematic if I could use it to produce my barriers. Therefore you'd be fine as long as you dodged them."

_"Ouch! Hey! What the hell was that for!? Why don't you watch where you-you!?", Yukiko demanded in an angry huff from her new position on the floor of Port Mafia Headquarters after having been barreled into all of a sudden. She tried to get away from the responsible party but the young girl didn't have the energy. Working out with one of the organization's Executives, even without their supernatural powers, was a work out. "Get off of me! I'm not in the mood for this, psychotic Leech! Not after Auntie Koi's lesson especially! Get! Off!" However dark strands of hair in her peripheral line of sight and something wet on her cheek made the girl stop struggling. It took a few seconds to realize that spot on her cheek was where her aunt's katana had knicked her making a superficial wound there. It took a repeat of the sensation to realize the dark haired girl who had tackled her out of nowhere, was holding onto her while licking the faintly bleeding cut. _

The copper girl tensed her muscles adding, "And your third miscalculation?", before bending her knees to kick off from the ground.

"A head on assult? And after all that bragging? Really?", laughed the older ability user raising an eyebrow at the on comming armed teen, "How dissappointing, yet totally predictable from Arahabaki's brat!"

'Considering his speed and physical strength getting close to him like this may be stupid and reckless. But if his ability is the same as Leech's...' Yukiko slammed on the breaks when she neared the smirking man anchoring herself through her firm stance. Body low in a semi-crouched position, muscles tensed for the quickest smallest action that may be needed.

Shirase wasted no time in playing to his seemingly easy win. A fist came down towards the fifteen year old only for knuckle to clash against solid metal. Turned out the elegant weapon was more then just for fanning oneself on a steamy city day while looking like a high-born lady. His punch vibrated through the unconventional weapon as shock ricochetted back up his fist through his outstreached arm. The next moment Shirase was yanking his hand away with an angry shout of pain.

'...then I can predict his movements. I don't need my ability to time my attacks correctly, even if he retreats into the cover of the shadows. And if I can predict his movements accuretly...' The blue eyed girl had snapped the fan shut before smacking it right on top of the white haired Sheep's wrist. The result was the guy yanking his hand away from her faster then if he had been burned. The goal had been to brake it but the mafioso wannabe admittedly lacked that sort of physical ability. Another slap for good measure with the metal object to the inside of the guy's wrist sent it off out of the way leaving Shirase's midsection wide open. 'Exposed now he'll come around with a kick to try and get me away from him before jumping after and grabbing me. He is going to keep trying for my throat so I need to, literally, watch my neck. But I can use that to my advantage too.'

Sure enough Yukiko's thoughts were on point almost as though she had willed them to happen. The Sheep Leader raised a leg to prepare a kick so there could be some distance between himself and the girl. He had to pin her again, but that metal weapon of her's wasn't as much of a joke as he had thought at first. It couldn't cause a real injury but it smarted like hell to say the least. Plus the God of Destruction's spawn could block his attacks with it which was a annoying problem and she was faster then he'd thought. Faster but not up to his speed and weaker. This time he would not release the teen once he got his hands on her or delay feeding from her to give her a fighting chance. "What? Not using your ability? You might be Arahabaki's brat but you're still just that...a brat that was probably spoiled and sheltered her whole life! You're far too weak kid!", Shirase taunted the fifteen year old with sharp canines flashing in the occasional patches of moonlight they crossed into.

The Nakahara-Dazai offspring leaned back out of the way narrowly avoiding her opponant's fangs by snapping her head to the opposite side. The guy's hot breath against her ear letting her know how narrowly he'd missed her. '...I know his weakness.', she thought lunging forward under Shirase's reach to jab the end of the folded fan straight into the Solar Plexus hard enough to distract him. At the same time the short bladed knife in Yukiko's other hand swung out to slice neatly at the exposed veins on top of her hand. The warmth that welled forth before oozing down her fingers there telling that the blade had hit it's intended target. With that successfull, the copper haired young ability user leaned forward to smear the top of her now stinging hand accross the white haired man's face in a back hand motion.

"Too weak and too slow!", snarled Shirase lifting a hand up, "That blow was nothing, and a slap to the face? Really?! Playtime is over kid!"

'I may be weak and slow and unable to use my ability for now, but I'm still smarter then you'll ever be.', the teen thought reacting by reaching out with the hand she had just sliced to meet her opponent's reach. "You're third miscalculation..you're third miscalculation was calling me a brat!" Yukiko cringed at the pressure Shirase's grip exherted on her self-wounded hand but her cheshire smirk was ear to ear. The teen had the male ability user exactly where she wanted him as she deliberetly twisted her hand in anyway she could before collapsing unceremoniously onto hard concrete. The girl biting back a curse at the uncomfortable impact her butt made with the hard surface. Instead the Nakahara-Dazai offspring shakily proceeded to get herself up onto her feet again just as quick as she had hit the ground. "I happen to be a stray dog, thank you, and you're the bastard that fell for my trap."

Gone was the previous confident, arrogant facade which the Sheep Leader had worn during their fight.

Gone was the will to taunt the girl in front of him.

Gone was what little trace of humanity the man may have yet had.

The only immediate response Yukiko gave was holding up the hand she'd cut the top of to show Shirase, carefull of not staining the tan of the coat sleeves too much. Fresh bright crimson blood streaking down her fingers to drip onto the concrete floor. "Called it.", said the blue eyed teen, " All I had to do was trigger your instincts which you don't seem capable of controling...figures. Not that I blame you. A certain psychopath tells me my blood is delicious like ripe mandarins." The inner turmoil the Sheep Leader was going through was more then evident to any onlooker let alone Yukiko. Sure this may have been a low blow, but the Nakahara-Dazai preffered to think of it as stratagy. If this guy had the same ability as that childish mafioso then surely they had to have had the same weaknesses. A thought only confirmed as the blue eyed teen watched her opponant run his tongue over his palm lapping at the red liquid. First tentivly like a curious but cautious animal but then with increasing vigor steadily cleaning his hand completely of the substance.

Shirase's stained palm curled in on itself into a shaking fist. In fact all of the man was trembling with the inner fight for self control, not just his hand. Not that this lasted long though as the Gifted let his hands dangle to the sides before leaping for the teen in front of him. **"Snowbound!", **came the bearly understandable snarl from the crazed man's lips now stained with the wannabe mafioso's blood. Grey eyes lit up with a wild hunger. The deep purple energy that had been surrounding Shirase the entire time pulsed outward exploding in a storm of ribbon-like streams of energy as the white haired man charged for the teen.

The teen chuckled, "Check and Mate."

_"What? What do you mean you can't control your ability?"_

_"Peel is a def mandarin peel. I told you I didn't have controll. The hunger just took over and your blood smells so good that...", the black haired teen pulled her knees to her chest, "...I couldn't help it. Thats why I tackled you and licked the cut you got from Ms. Koyo's katana like that. Thats why I-" The fourteen year old mafioso's voice trailed off._

_Yukiko ignored the taunt to focus on the bigger matter at hand. The thirteen year old had always been sure the black haired older teen had more control over her ability. Sure once and awhile she'd act off but still. A few hours later and the young mafioso was back to her psycopathic self all over again. The pair sat both backs up against the base of the cooridoor wall. "Its just u__p until now when you so rudely crashed into me, you always seemed to have control of it. Like from the time we met had control. So sorry if I don't get how you can suddenly NOT have it and attack me licking my wound like an energetic puppy and then biting my neck.", the copper haired girl said pulling down her collar to show the other the right side of her neck. Now bearing two small angry red puncture marks._

_The other teen didn't look up at her companion, "I can useually 'off set' it with a hunt every other day or maybe a little longer depending on how much blood I took..."_

_"Off set? Hunt?", Yukiko repeated raising an eyebrow at the other girl as the words meaning dawned on her, "Don't tell me..."_

_The other girl's silence was telling enough._

_"Nobody knows right? Boss? IF anyone were to know it may be dad-", the copper haired teen's voice trailed off seeing the young mafioso's arms tighten around her knees to draw them closer to her chest. Yukiko's body moved on its own in response. Instantly. Without hesitation, the Nakahara-Dazai offspring scooted closer to the older girl until their sides were right up against each other. Letting an arm flop over the mafioso's lap, the teen ignored the stiffening as she lay her head on the dark haired girl's lap. Other hand brushing the hair from her neck effectivly exposing it to her living pillow. Hair out of the way, she used the same hand to reach up and drag the mafioso's face by the collar down until she felt lips at her neck. "Then use me. You're always calling me 'Peel' because of my hair, maybe my blood taste sweet like a mandarin orange too I don't know.", Yukiko said lowering her hand practically hearing the question though the mafia member was completly silent, "You'll be in really big trouble if someone finds out you've been hunting people in Yokohama, but need to hunt to keep control of your power right? __Maybe with a regular supply of blood-"_

_Yukiko never finished and neither did the mafioso interupt her. Instead the blue eyed teen fell silent feeling a gentle prick at her neck, just before the area was flooded with soothing numbing warmth. Closing her eyes the girl went limp relaxing laying in the other's lap letting the dark haired teen feed. "Stupid Leech.", Yukiko mumbled reaching a hand blindly up to swat playfully at a long black ponytail without disturbing the fourteen year old feeding from her for the first time since they met years ago._

An enraged hungry beast was surely a thing to behold without a doubt. Eyes wide, blank and wild. Crimson shining lips turned up in a grin while exposing two sets of elongated extra pointy canine teeth. Bloodlust coming off of them in waves. All sense of self and reality gone, instead replaced with nothing but instinct and hunger, thirst, for blood. Human blood at that. Those wild, primitive instincts and drive coupled with the addition of a hyper boost in both physical power and speed that was beyond even what most Gifteds were capable of. As much as Yukiko hated to admit it this guy was going to be a real pain to defeat, particularly without even the simplified defensive version of her ability. Running on adrenaline this fight was going to take care and using her head to come out victorious. It was pure luck the Nakahara-Dazai understood Shirase's ability already. "Arahabaki my ass.", Yukiko breathed before snapping back to her senses as the white haired bloodthirsty ability user charged her snarling, "Papa...is nothing like you..."

Yukiko ducked under the wild man's assult, his mouth snapping like an animal's jaws complete with fangs sparkling in the moonlight. Hard emotionless eyes focused on her target and breathing evenly controlled. She was smaller. She could move faster now with the aide of the lost of sanity overriding combat experiance in her opponant. Thus his attack missed. The teen's, on the other hand, hit home as elbow slammed right under Shirase's rib cage.

The man jolted but wasn't effected much other then that. Not with a blow he sustained being from someone who had significantly lower physical power then himself anyway. Snarling he reached out as though with claws to grab the girl by her bright locks to drag and toss her back.

The wannabe mafioso wasn't done yet though, far from it as a matter of fact. Bracing the arm holding the open fan in the inside crook of her arm still jammed into her opponant's side, the copper haired girl flipped the short knife in her grip. Said grip now being backwards compared to how she was holding it seconds ago. Digging her elbow further into the blood-crazed man's ribs while keeping her arm braced in her elbow, Yukiko leaned in swinging. A animalistic-scream laters and the warehouse floor was again splashed with a large pool of crimson. Most of it covering up an almost burn-like scorch mark embedded into the concrete. It was added to by the drops running off the edge of the sixteen year old's blade her grip tightened around. "My ability is one that distorts the fabric of reality. Did you really think there wouldn't be some scar left over from such a Gift somewhere? Or I would be too stupid to not take advantage of that?", huffed the wannabe mafioso as Shirase stumbled away from the left over dimensional line he'd been forced to cross, "Anything that crosses those scars gets severed just like as if they impacted my barriers. And I happen to remember where every single one of these lines are so-"

Shirase held his left arm which was bleeding heavily from a slash in his forearm as though he'd raised them in defense of himself. Now both his hands were stained red, albeit the blood of two different people. One his own and the other the blue eyed girl's. His back was also bleeding heavily thanks to him backing up over the illuminated dimensional line. From the Nakahara-Dazai offspring having forced him to step over the line by shoving into his lunge just as she planned from the start.

A wide superior grin spread over the fifteen year old's face as the corners of her mouth turned upwards, a deep chuckle of amusement escaping her. Eyes narrowed as her pupils shrunk to emotionless blue pinpricks now being visiable just peeking out from above her fan. The weapon hiding the rest of her face as she watched the bleeding Sheep Leader a few feet away from her howl with a combination of primal animalistic rage and pain. It was sheer music to her ears honestly. The young ability user enjoyed the sounds that were proving succesfull at boosting her ego. "-All I have to do now is keep pushing you into the directions around the warehouse where I know the dimensional lines are and avoid your atta-", the copper haired fifteen year old froze before she could charge again at the white haired Gifted.

Everything that happened next happened so fast...

Yukiko's breath caught in her throat as a pair of arms wrapped around her, the smell of cigarettes accompanied by what was identifiable to her as the smell of a 1998 Domaine Leroy Musigny Grand Cru wine. Black and red swam around her as a soft pressure rested on top of her head. A soft pressure that was thanks to hands gloved in luxury dark fabric. A soft pressure that pulled the teen wannabe Mafioso towards a simple white cotton shirt. Her body suddenly feeling lighter then air and ready to blow away at the gentlest passing breeze.

"Ça va aller, nous sommes ici maintenant. Il ne vous fera plus de mal, reste juste avec Dad.", came the warning rolling off of the speaker's tongue in perfectly smooth French.

Not that Yukiko didn't need telling twice. The fifteen year old clutched tightly onto her rescuer, just about burying her face in long soft copper much like her own. Though these particular long bright strands only rested over a single shoulder draped in the fashion of a ponytail, which her fingers curled themselves in. The soft bunch of copper slipping like silk strands through her fingers. So soft. So familiar. "Papa-"

"Silencieux Chibi.", intoned Arahabaki as the ancient being only held onto the female ability user in his arms, "Pour La Douleur Contaminée." The God of Destruction spoke with a practiced tongue slipping between his native language and the more romantic language with the lazy ease of someone having been doing so for years.

Meanwhile sea blue eyes widened as the personification of destruction stood over the Sheep Leader, foot planted firm into the guy's upheld arm in what looked like an attempted block. Around the new combatant's was a large dent in the warehouse floor thanks to the increased weight bearing down on the singular spot. Though the dark god which attacked Shirase was floating in mid air surrounded in the glow of his own ability just like the male Sheep.

The Sheep Leader snarled up at his attacker while bracing his arm against the heel of the dark god. Brilliant red lips pulled back in a grin to reveal the two pairs of elongated wicked canines among the rest of his teeth.

Arahabaki was poised above Shirase in midair glaring down to meet the man's glare. Yukiko resting in his arms bridal carry-style not unlike how he normally carried his partner on more then one occasion. Red surrounding both their forms as well thanks to the god's power. "Mackerel!", the chaotic God of Destruction called out while twisting his body in a sharp quick motion.

Before the teen could react to protest or resist, she was flying weightless through the air away from her father. Even that proved to be short lived though, as once again the feeling of a pair of arms wrapped around her pulling her back. Meanwhile the sensation of weightlessness disappeared giving gravity back hold of her body again. The red which had surrounded her switching to a pale blue instead as a certain detective pulled his and the Mafia Boss's daughter from the air. Bandaged arms wrapping tight around her pulling her in to wrap her in both black coat and the blue numbing energy of No Longer Human at once. Yukiko felt Dazai lean forward curling his body around his and resting his head right by her ear.

"Don't resist.", said the demon in a low monotone as he felt his daughter go rigged in his arms. Followed by the odd instinct to slacken up, an instinct he made himself deny, on his hold of her. Instead he dropped his partner's old tacky hat on her head with a soft plop. "Remember what Papa said? Stay low and quiet and let me take care of this. Don't worry-", the Youngest Port Mafia Executive paused breifly before continuing, "-I'm not going to let anything happen to him. Just trust me. This'll be over before you know it."

The copper haired wannbe mafioso stared up past the brim of her father's hat to stare at the brunette detective. A spark went off in the back of her thoughts as she silently examined the odd face her dad was wearing then. His posture. His attitude. That foreign look in his eyes which were normally a light with intelligent mischief or melted chocolate pools of affection. His words and almost emotionless tone. With a bad feeling making her squirm in the detective's arms, Yukiko turned back to Chūya and Shirase.

Black gloves fell to the warehouse floor...

"Granters, of dark disgrace. You need not wake me again."

**Man did this chapter make my brain put in extra work! But that result is what is called in the scientific community as a combination of quarentine and watching the Fifteen episodes too many times. Just like Yukiko fights with a combination of Savate and Tessenjutsu when not using her ability. **

**Oh and to avoid confusion, Dazai and Chūya are being reffered to differently NOT because their younger selves suddenly appeared from the past. (Noooooo! Rest assured that time travel is another arc lol!) They are being reffered to differently because of their mind sets. Its like they slipped back mentally, or if you prefer (though it is sort of true in Dazai's case) slipped back into their actuall personalities, to their 15-18 personalities. This is going to be Double Black we are looking at right now. Not 22+ Dazai and Chūya.**

* * *

***Snowbound

**Please note that while Shirase is not a literary figure, to the best of my knowledge, his new ability Snowbound is an actual literary work.** Shirase's ability, **Snowbound, **is based on the novel Snowbound: The Record of a Theatrical Touring Party. This ability allows him to injest the blood of a human being by feeding off them in a drinking manner. Though this doesn't have a specfic location requirement, it seems the most common area is the neck of the intended target. Doing so grants Shirase enhanced speed and physical strength more so then even what is most common for Gifteds. On top of enhancing these physical traits, Snowbound also gives him what is called Cyrogenic Blood or Ice Blood. In other words anything or anyone which his blood comes into contact with instantly freezes due to its staggering low temperatures.

-"Ça va aller, nous sommes ici maintenant. Il ne vous fera plus de mal, reste juste avec Dad." - "We're here, everything is going to be okay now. He will not hurt you anymore, just stay with Dad."

-"Silencieux" - the masculine form of "Quiet".

-"Pour La Douleur Contaminée." - "For The Tainted Sorrow."


	15. Grantors Of Dark Disgrace

**Society, thou art indulgence of gloomy filth;**

**do not wake me up again!**

**-part of a stanza from Song of the Sheep in "the poems of Nakahara Chūya"**

**Chūya Nakahara 1907-1937**

_"Really? You're putting the ball in my court? I hate it when you say stuff like that. It always means that I don't actually have a choice. Grantors, of dark disgrace. You need not wake me again."_

_-Chūya activating **Corruption **for the first time in four years in a fight against H.P. Lovecraft during the 'Double Black' reunion_

_Double Black_

_"Kid. You've got a seriously fucked up family."_

She watched the soft luxury leather gloves fall to the ground from underneath the brim of the hat her dad pressed onto the top of her head. Gloves that never left hands she knew to be well softer then even a vain women's pampered ones falling to the old warehouse floor.

_Yukiko turned her head looking up so that her baby blues met their doppelganger baby blues. She was nine years old sitting on the roof top that made up the Port Mafia headquarter building which doubled as the lavish penthouse she called home. A little nine year old girl dressed in a simple white t-shirt that was too big for her, long fuzzy pajama pants and oversized black coat wrapped around her that smelled comfortingly of booze and smoke. Socked feet dangling precariously off the edge of the building as she watched the moon hanging in the darkened sky above Yokohama City. Long copper locks allowed to hang in a freshly showered messy disarray about her as they dried naturally in the cool breeze that blew that night. Tilting her head with innocent curiosity to the side, "Fucked up family?", she repeated tasting the words on her tongue. They tasted weird...fun but weird. Her father said a lot of weird but fun words._

She felt arms wrap tight around her as the mummy detective pulled her close to him. Yukiko looked out from under the hat's brim in the direction of her father several feet away. The man being the only one keeping her and her dad from the mad-with-revenge-and-thirst-for-blood Shirase. Hands came up to grip at the bandaged arms holding her as she watched brilliant red tatoo-like swirls inch their way over Chūya's skin as though they were crawling. The familiar crimson glow surrounding her father as useual whenever his ability was active and yet this was the farthest from the Mafia Boss just manipulating gravity.

_Chūya sat beside the little nine year old child on the roof of one of the Port Mafia Towers, legs dangling over the edge just as hers were. Eyes locked lazily out over lit up city that streached itself out before them all the way to the distant docks and warehouses that lined the Yokohama City Port. He took a long drag from the cigarette held between his fingers before lowering it from his lips. He breathed out releasing the puff he had inhaled as smoke into the newly risen night. Beside him on his side opposite the child was a half full glass of expensive white wine he had been nursing since the two of them came out onto the roof. "Yeah.", said Chūya keeping his eyes out over the city sprawled out before them. The lit buildings like subjects bowing before their king...no...more like worshippers grovling before their mighty god. _

Chūya took a step towards the white haired bloodthirsty Gifted opposite him, the ground collapsing inwards around the step thanks to increased gravity. A gale of wind shot up around the copper haired man like a small violent whirlwind.

Shirase didn't bother falling back though. He only grinned widely at the sight showing two sets of elongated ivory fangs resting among his teeth.

That was all the, if any, invitation Chūya needed. In a single leap, Chūya took off streaking towards Shirase with such speed and force the white haired Gifted just had time to put up a shield of ice to stave off serious damage. The ice shattering on impact when the Mafia Boss collided with it reducing it to ice dust. Turning around to grin down at his opponant from where he hoovered in the air, two black orbs formed in the petite man's hands which he proceeded to launch downwards.

The Sheep Leader snarled flinging his arm which Yukiko had slashed earlier through the air before him. This caused several large spikes of ice to form from his blood and surge forward towards the oncoming attack. The ice collided with the black orbs causing an explosion mid-air.

The shorter of the two combatants landed crouched on all fours on the ground skidding back a bit. A large gravitational orb forming around him accompanied by purple energy ribbons just in time to block another barrage of large frozzen blood icicles sent his way.

Yukiko couldn't take her eyes off of the scene before her, "Wha-whats going on?" It took effort turning her head upwards to look at Dazai, "Dad whats going on with Papa!? You know don't you? I know you know!", she demanded of the adult.

"That, Chibi, is Upon The Tainted Sorrow.", said Dazai as his arms slackened around the fifteen year old. Eyes not looking away from the fight unfolding before him and the teen, dull old blood colored eyes following the fight with great scrutiny. Following Chūya's movements with great scrutiny.

The Nakahara-Dazai blinked up at her dad before turning her head back to watch the fight between her father and Sheep Leader. She watched as her father got back up onto his feet forming another black orb and launching it single handed at the blood-crazed white haired male ability user faster then the bloodsucker could retaliate. The orb exploding on impact with it's target causing a crater to be blasted in the port shaking the entire area like a small centeralized earthquake. The warehouse behind Shirase adding another tally to those that had been blasted away. "Thats Tainted...", Yukiko parroted not believing her dad's claim.

"When Slugs serious yes.", Dazai confirmed before going on with his explination, "His corrupted form allows him to manipulate nearby gravitons, creating a black hole which swallows everything in its path." As if confirming the tall brunette's words, a massive wave of ice suddenly surged forward from the building Shirase had been thrown back into. Chūya readied another pair of black holes only to be overtaken by the ice wave, not that it lasted longer then a second though. Because the ice encasing the petite Mafia Boss shattered from the inside outwards collapsing around the one it was supposed to hold. "The drawback is he relinquishes control, attacking in a blind rage until he wastes away."

Yukiko's eyes widen into huge blue saucers at the explanation of what was going on with the gravity manipulator. Shirase was defeated, gone without a trace and never coming back but yet nothing had changed. The copper haired Gifted still carried on totally oblivious and uncaring that the battle was over. The crimson of fresh blood staining his clothes as it streamed from the petite man's blank eyes and nose, adding to the crimson burning tatoos. Black holes still forming at his finger tips as he continued to toss them around the port with reckless abandon. Several warehouses already destroyed in addition to the one the family had previously been in when everything started. "Papa...", Yukiko muttered as Chūya let go a high pitched manic laugh which just didn't sound like him echoing around the battlefield. Digging her teeth into her lower lip while raising her voice, "Papa!"

_However these thoughts just lasted long enough for the area around the male Gifted's hand to be crushed before suddenly fading away. Pause freezing up his thoughts with shock. _

It took all lf a few seconds to realize that she didn't like this version of her father. And it took her dad's explination of just what was going on to make up her mind that she was going to do something about this unholy mess. Luckily slipping away from the brunette detective was as easy as if he had released her of his own accord. Yukiko wrapped her arms in vice grips around Chūya's waist while digging her feet in trying to make him keep still, while also making sure he could not throw her off. It seemed to work a little for the rampaging ability user did pause, and without trying to dislodge her from him.

Blank voids turned down towards Yukiko as a black hole formed in one of Chūya's hands. The Mafia Boss staring down at his little female look-a-like clinging to the front of him like an annoying insect.

_Yukiko was clinging to him. The child, no his daughter, silently clung to his...her father's...nearest sleeve with a look of stubborn determination behind sea-colored eyes. Putting out the cigarette stub against the dark metal of the building, __Chūya's eyes softened at the sight before he reached over to pull Yukiko up onto his lap sideways. A gloved hand messing with her hair earning a cute giggle from the nine year old and playfull swat at his hand. "I'm sorry.", the gravity-manipulator said in a low voice he thought the child wouldn't care or even registar._

_"I'm sorry I brought you into this fucked up world Yukiko."_

The fifteen year old's grip only tightened on the rich suit she clung to, eyes locked up on a pair of blank slates staring back down at her. Eye narrowed with conviction, "You didn't bring me into a fucked up world, and you're not some mindless ancient God of Destruction and Chaos! You're not the vessel of a god either! You're Chūya Nakahara! You're not Arahabaki Papa!"

At that moment there was a flash of blue light as they were surrounded with the energy ribbons swirling about them. The burning red swirling marks fadded from the Mafia Boss's skin as clarity returned to him. The teen watching as voids staring down at her were replaced by familiar azure, the dark gravity orb in Chūya's hand dissipating harmlessly into nonexistence. His full weight falling on her as though he was using his ability to keep her pinned down to the office floor back at mafia headquarters for rash actions or words again. Not that this lasted long. For soon enough the man's weight was lifted back off of her before the copper haired teen collapsed under it.

Dazai had pulled the injured and exhausted Chūya backwards easing the man down onto his lap.

"Arahaba-!"

Yukiko blinked falling to her knees by the two men. Her body trembling as she stared past her parents to the should-have-been-obliterated Sheep Leader rise out of the destruction, only to collapse where he stood. Turning back to her parents, the fifteen year old felt her breath hitch as she noted Dazai's hand open hoovering over Chūya as though he had dropped something to the injured man. Chūya, meanwhile, was staring at his now fallen for good opponant with his arm outstreached and red glow fading from his body. Eyes closing as body went limp against the black-clad detective. The thought that a bullet could now be found lodged in Shirase's heart pushed to the back of the copper haired teen's mind as fear rose afresh for her father.

* * *

_"Chūya!"_

The gravity-manipulator's body lurched involuntarily as the familiar voice echoed in his head. He knew that voice, knew it very well despite it being at least a decade since last hearing it.

_"Yo__u reckless idiot! Fight it! Don't you dare...don't you dare leave me stupid Slug! Come on Hat Rack! Chūya!"_

Wait. He was wrong. That wasn't the voice of Author Rimbaud. It was just as familiar, yes, but not the exact same. This one was much louder, simultaneously irritating and soothing, and was full of...was that...pleading he could hear? Desperation? And only one pwrson ever dared to call him 'Slug'. But what the hell was Osamu's problem? The damn Demon Prodigy knew that this was all part of the recovery process from Corruption after being together for how many years. His partner knew what kind of toll unleashing the true form of For The Tainted Sorrow took out on the copper haired hat-wearing Gifted. His partner was the one that came up with the post-Corruption use protocols for crying out loud. So why was he freaking out like he did when they first discovered this particular stage of his power? He was going to worry their daughter into a hysteria for crying out loud. "Osamu..." The Mafia Boss felt arms tighten around him in response before a high pitched cry caught his attention away from the brunette.

"Papa!? Come on, wake up already Papa! Dad somethings wrong with Papa! We have to call Doc Butterfly and Auntie Koi now!"

"Easy Chibi, don't yell at Papa like that and just try taking deep breaths instead to calm yourself. Making yourself hysterical isn't going to help him. Corruption takes a lot out of Papa but hes a lot stronger then it makes him seem...trust me. He isn't going to let some ability beat him."

"But Dad!"

"Yukiko."

"Dad!"

A second voice. He heard a second voice which seemed to be talking to his partner...that was unuseual for post-Corruption. In fact it was down right wrong considsring nobody in thwir right mind dared get close to even think of bothering Double Black's post-Corruption ritual. His partner wouldn't allow anybody else near him in this state. Yukiko. That second panicked voice belonged to someone called Yukiko... His daughter was panicking over him and the Demon Prodigy, his annoying sadistic bastard of a bandage wasting partner, was attempting to calm her. But that left the question about who was trying to calm the demon? The lanky brunette always freaked out big time when the copper haired male drew on the limits of Upon The Tainted Sorrow. Like big time. As in to the point he killed a couple of his own subordinates that got too close after one of its uses who were only trying to help during one of their jobs at seventeen. Grant it they were subordinates who were new to the duo's post-Corruption rituals and not their child but still.. Their daughter didn't know the extant of just how dangerous his partner could be in this gap of time. If he were to accidently hurt the fifteen year old then...

A hand came up resting against the Demon Prodigy's cheek with gentle reassuring pressure. The black clad Youngest Executive stiffened before looking down at the shorter brighter haired figure laying in his lap. Exhausted but concerned blue staring back up meeting his seemingly emotionless brown. Not blank but blue as the Yokohama Sea. Or, rather, as blue and sunny as the tourqoise pendent around his neck happened to be. The prodigy put his own hand to the one resting against his cheek while not looking away from the blue matching that holding his tie in place. Relax. Breathe. The dark haired prodigy had to remember to breathe.

"How the hell do you expect me to get any rest from using Corruption with you arguing with a fifteen year old, stupid ass Mackerel. You're arguing so god damn loud that you two could wake the dead with your whinny crap.", breathed Arahabaki staring up at the demon. The look in his eyes exhausted yet bright as they've ever been. He could feel the prodigy practically go totally limp against his palm and couldn't help the pained smirk at the gentle returned pressure there against ungloved hand. The gentle warm waves of No Longer Human traveling down his arm from where their hands were touching like the pulses of a easy heartbeat. Each beat pulsing from their point of origin into him and through his body to soothe the angry god of fire resting just under the surface of human skin. No Longer Human linking up with Upon The Tainted Sorrow to get the much more violent Corruption back under control again. Meanwhile the prodigy was quieted seeing him still with them despite the earlier display and how he appeared at the moment.

"Papa!"

"Oof!" The god was greatful he was already laying down on his partner's lap or else he'd have collapsed onto the ground with the teen leaping at him. What little air that was left in his lungs was immediately expelled at the force. Hair much like his own took up his line of sight as wet soaked into his chest. Letting out a sigh, the shorter half of Double Black raised his free hand to rub the back of the fifteen year old's head. "Chibi.", he caughed painfully, "For crying outloud when did you get so damn heavy? You just about knocked the last bit of wind out of me crazy kid. You're a teenager now. You can't just jump on me like that." However feeling the body trembling against him made the ancient entity backtrack and hold his face to her hair for a moment before backing off adding, "Look I'm going to be okay allright."

Yukiko lifted her head to meet her father's eyes. Her own were wet with silent tears shed from fear of loosing the man she was clinging to currently. She didn't seem so sure that letting him go was really the right thing to do or not.

Arahabaki sighed, "Listen to me allright? You still have Dad's phone on you right? Do me a favor, go get my hat, coat and gloves and call your Auntie Koi yeah? Tell her everything that happened, where we are and that we need an extraction soon as possible."

The girl still didn't look all that convinced.

"Yukiko Nakahara-Dazai. I promise I'll still be here, maybe not concious, but here and you still have to call your aunt. Otherwise we're spending the night here in one of these warehouses.", said the copper haired man with a bit more urgency to his voice then previously was there. Gravity was starting to weigh down not just his body, but his mind and eyelids too. Even if was only a few hours normally it still tended to depend on how long Corruption was active. The petite male had been out a little over a week after the fight between Double Black and Dostoevsky...so he thinks from his partner's point of view. Not that mentioning being unconcious helped much. He could still see the uncertainess in the girl as she got off him to jog off in search of his missing accessories. With the weight he could controll still finally off of him the petite entity let his head collapse backwards onto the lap of his partner with a long sigh-like moan in the process. "You're good now right? For now I can leave the rest to you? I'm not going to get any decent rest here if I'm subconsciously obsessing over if you've killed our daughter or not because of that damn protective possessive thing you tend to have.", he asked as his voice started to fall lower to become more breathy with each word. Eyelids starting to fall as gravity was finally steadily winning over the male. There was a pause before Chūya added, "Think we're succeeding in our job?"

For the first time since raising his hand to put it on top of his partner's, the prodigy let go a breath closing his eyes for a moment. When he opened them he nodded as way of confirming the injured man's question. Yeah. He'd be fine now that he'd know the shorter of their duo would be alright, that he was just taking his normal post-Corruption nap. That they'd soon be on their way returning home in the back of a black car with tinted windows under the escort of Koyo and her girls. Said Executive probably taking their daughter under her wing for a short time while the duo's ritual was complete and it was assured she'd be safe coming around them again. "Rest now partner-", said the demon in a low voice as his grip tightened around the hand resting against his cheek. His own brown dull blood colored eyes closing as his body heaved in a long carefully controlled sigh. "-and yeah, I'd say we're suceeding in our job. Wouldn't you?"

The dark god let go a painfull exhauseted chuckle as his lips pulled up into a half-hearted smirk, "Yeah. I would."

It went unspoken as they passed out that both members of Double Black knew this would be their last night together. Because, after this, they were both doomed. There was no way a certain Chibi was going to let her parents out of the dog house with this one.

**Wow I struggled with this chapter. Also on a side note...Yukiko means Snow and Child. However, more relevant to our idiots here, it also means Happiness and Begining.~**


	16. Only A Diamond-

**Soiled sorrow:**

**Today too snow falls on it;**

**Soiled sorrow:**

**Today too wind blows on it;**

**Soiled sorrow:**

**Is like, say, a fox's fur;**

**Soiled sorrow:**

**Covered with snow, curls up**

**Soiled sorrow:**

**Has no desires or wishes;**

**Soiled sorrow:**

**In its torpor dreams of death**

**Soiled sorrow:**

**frightens me piteously;**

**Soiled sorrow:**

**Can't be remedied, and the sun sets...**

**-Soiled Sorrow, from the collection of poems labeled as 'Goat Songs' collected in the poems of Nakahara Chūya**

**Chūya Nakahara, 1907-1937**

**;) Tehehe... OH! By the way, the opening for this would have been the third season cannon opening "Setsuna no Ai". Also yes...I googled what I like to think of as these idiot's wine lol. (And the only wine Dazai will ever agree to drink) **

**Also a warning that this is pretty much pure fluff until next chapter so yeah...get toothbrushes ready!**

**Also last thing...I lied. This is the second to last, not the last, chapter. I decided to brake up the last chapter into two instead of just this one in the end.**

"I! Said! Let! Me! In!"

"We...we can't! We're sorry Little Boss but we have strict orders to-!"

"The Temple Of The Red Pavilion!"

Screams were muffled by the red boxy barriers that spung to life at Yukiko's command to surround the pair of armed gaurds outside her parent's door. The young Gifted eyes sharp ice pricks. Her body glowing with the tell tale crimson aura outlining her form as she held a hand outwards. "You dare to deny me? Clearly some members of our organization need to be reminded of the pecking order of things.", Yukiko snarled dangerously at the men, "Maybe if I lowered the oxygen levels in your new homes a bit it'll clear your heads."

"That is quite enough now, release them child. They are merely doing their jobs and, as such, there is no need to rough house them. Besides its unbecoming of a lady to play with her food."

Yukiko faltered, eyes widening as she whipped around at the familiar smooth female voice. The crimson boxy barricades around the Port Mafia grunts instantly shattering, thus freeing them.

The one who had spoken was a tall and slender woman with cherry red eyes and red hair tied into a traditional Japanese bun which was being held by three long golden clips, another hair clip on the right side of her head composed by a light pink furry hair clip and red ribbon which forms a five-petal flower. The elegant women was clad differently then the normal polished expensive suits of Port Mafia black Yukiko was accostomed to seeing. Instead this women dressed in a traditional pink kimono overlapped by dark purple with bellflower motifs all tied neatly with a maroon bow which bore white borders, and a light pink mantle which goes darker in color from her elbow to her feet. Her makeup consisted of red eye shadow and light pink lipstick. In her hands was a folded up umbrella despite it being indoors and not a drop of rain outside.

"Auntie Koi!", shouted the young ability user who wasted no time in composing herself at the new women's appearance.

**Port Mafia Executive; Ozaki Kōyō**

**Ability; Golden Demon**

Kōyō Ozaki smiled fondly, the space-manipulator's sudden switch just because of her presence endearing to her. Her young niece really was quite the handfull and yet the female Executive just could not bring herself to discipline Yukiko for her own life. Even if the girl ever ended up deserving such an action. Yet seeing Yukiko's reaction to her presence was sweet for the Gifted women just then. Still smiling her attention briefly from the copper haired fifteen year old to the pair of armed gaurds, "You both are dissmissed. The appropriate time has passed but the Boss is still not to be disturbed for trivial matters. Arrangements have been made swiftly as possible, we will be ready and carry on bussiness as useual." Kōyō's voice was calm and gentle, yet there was the unmistakable undertone of warning that her words were orders meant to be followed promptly without questioning or failure. It was the voice of a women of power...stature. There was no wiggle room to disobey or otherwise challange.

The Nakahara-Dazai watched as both armed men bowed to the female Executive before collecting their weapons and leaving. Nothing but a "Yes Lady Kōyō." as their responses. A small smile threatening to pull the corners of her mouth upwards in amusement at the men's fear of the women. Not that the fifteen year old blamed them though really. It wasn't as though her aunt was an Executive of the organization for no reason after all...even her parents were uneasy around her when Koyo was serious.

"Yuki."

Yukiko's attention snapped to the pink kimono fluttering by her towards the door to her parent's bedroom. "Yes Ma'am.", she said quickly following the umbrella toting women.

"Come child, cease wasting your time and ability on the gaurds when it is better suited elsewhere. Time to give your foolish fathers the what for. It is your right alone as their daughter.", said the female Executive while pushing open the large wooden doors.

* * *

"Soooooo~. How you feel?"

Chūya stopped swirling the deep red liquid around the half empty glass.

Dazai's voice was monotoned low despite the sing song pitch as he turned his head to face his ex-partner. Affectionate wasn't their thing and had never been...the blue eyed man had always been more then rough and tough around the edges. (Unless he was with Dazai in which he tended to at least calm(and infuriate) easily if nothing else.) Meanwhile Dazai himself was, well, he was never really one with his emotions before. (Unless he was with Chūya in which case the whole mafia finally remembered the brunette was actually the very child he acted like in the copper head's presence.) Or so the men would so claim, vehemently, to any soul in the immediate vacinity. Even if they had both been almost at death's door twenty-four hours ago at the absolute most. Or perhaps that was the very reason for the thin gentle fingers ending up slipping under the custom-made collar on the far side of the gravity-manipulator's neck. Soft, warm, caring fingers which childishly tugged on the familiar supposed to be gag 'Welcome to the Port Mafia! Don't forget whose dog you are!' gift. There they started tracing swirling patterns over up his neck leaving a satisfying trail of goosebumps in their wake along Chūya's skin. A swirling trail, the brunette was sure the shorter man would note, that was the exact pattern which the burning cursed marks of Corruption generally followed when they appeared. Freshly wrapped (by none other then the currently bed-bound orange haired boss of course) linen brushed softly against the gravity manipulator's skin tickling it there. Brown eyes reduced to pools of melted chocolate.

Chūya meanwhile wasn't oblivious to what Dazai was doing. The differance was the phantom burning sensation that typically followed the use of Arahabaki's power along these lines were cooled by the invisable balm that was No Longer Human. Like gel on a burn from being out in the summer sun far too long. The shorter of the duo relaxed letting his head slump over enough to expose the whole side of his neck for easier access to where the detective was tracing the swirling patterns over his flesh. Blue closed as he took a deep breath letting any remaining tension out to nearly sink into the mattress of the bed. To sink into the taller's arms and just be held by the detective like he had for years, his head leaning into Dazai's chest to reassure himself the stupid mackerel was still alive. The pounding he would feel about as soothing as the brunette's ability. "You were stabbed and bled out in my arms stupid Mackerel asshole. Then you risked our daughter by letting her near me to restrain me, when Shirase or me could have killed her. Why do your plans always seem to involve you nearly dying or being locked up?" , Chūya almost growled in response to the detective's question.

"You used Corruption.", came Dazai's pointed response, "Beaides I know you'll always save me."

"If I didn't kill him, you would have put Shirase through a worse hell. Don't try to deny it.", the Mafia Boss said point blank before following up with a long drink of his wine. "And don't tempt me otherwise.", he added low.

The brunette detective's face twisted taking on the former Port Mafia Executive's persona once more. "Oh? Maybe 'Sheep Dog' isn't just an exageration after all?", he said with a chuckle, "You still cared about Sheep even after what they did to members of the organization and planned to do to Yokohama?" A stiff well aimed kick under the blankets to the nearest leg seemed to jostle the Executive right out of Dazai, as he suddenly cringed reaching for the limb. Face contorted comically in pain. "Chuuuuuya!~", the whining sing song voice was back, "That hurt!~ If you broke my leg just now with your short legs, then how am I supposed to take care of you while you recover from using Corruption?!~"

"You've had it in for him since we were kids Osamu."

"I've had it in for Sheep since we were kids. It was Shirase who stabbed you back then and torturing the entire organization would be too much of a pain. But that still doesn't mean you should kick me.~"

The copper haired boss retracted his leg back to his side of the bed while glaring over his wine glass at the other man. Blue eyes narrowed in clear annoyance. "Just be greatful I'm not even at half my strength right now 'cause otherwise I'll kick your ass out of the bed and through the door. Or I could always kick your injury to get my point accross.", Chūya snapped over his drink. Then lowering it before adding in a dark tone, "I just pitied the bastard for whatever the hell that thing was that he became. Besides Yukiko needs one of us at least. With Arahabaki out of the bag, figured it was best to keep the Demon Prodigy on as short a leash as possible."

"Ehem.", came a very familiar female voice clearing itself pointedly from the bedroom doorway, "Hate to interrupt boys but...some worried child whom you both owe an explanation to would like to see her idiot parents. Come young one." The red haired kimono-clad women stepped carefully aside so she stood against one side of the enterance's doorway while holding a hand outward to usher her charge forward.

A familiar head of long bright orange locks and bright ocean blue eyes turned the corner coming into the doorway beside the women.

"Yukiko.", started Chūya making like he was going to attempt to get out of bed at the sight of his daughter coming to stand in the doorway. The still unfamiliar and overwhelming urge to go to his teenage likeness, scoop her up in his arms and hold her tight surging up through his viens. At least until it was quickly cooled off by the shock of pain that shot through his body. Everything from muscle to cell protesting any movement to force the Mafia Boss to lay back down resting back against the headboard.

Yukiko, meanwhile, knew she should be upset.

The fifteen year old ability user knew she should be screaming an entire book of profanities.

She knew she should be stomping her feet and flailing her arms about in the air.

She knew she should refuse to ever speak to them ever again.

She knew she should be using her ability to destroy the room.

She knew neither man would stop her because they knew she had every right to.

They lied to her.

They kept secrets, really mega secrets, from her.

They put her through emotional hell.

And yet as soon as Yukiko saw her father attempt to get out of bed to no doubt come to her, her memory became a blurr. It was the first time her memory blurred that day. All the young space manipulator knew was one moment her aunt was pushing the bedroom door open giving her the okay, the next she was crawling up the bed. The fifteen year old didn't utter a word or give any aknowledgement of the eyes following her every move as she made her way towards the two men. Her own eyes down watching where she was headed. Having reached the top of the plush king-sized bed, Yukiko punched the pillows a bit to fluff them up before tucking herself into the small space between her parents. After settling herself, Yukiko's head dropped with evident exhaustion onto Chūya's chest while the teen reached deftly back to grab Dazai's arm and direct it up over herself. Her own hand coming to rest carefully tracing the yards of bandages mummifying the detective's limb.

The fifteen year old didn't scream an entire book of profanities at them.

She didn't stomp over or flail her arms all about the air.

She didn't use her ability to lay waste to the bedroom.

The young ability user just closed her eyes and lay there tightly nestled between her parents. A hand carefully playing with her dad's bandaged arm she'd drapped over them while curled to her father almost totally laying on his chest. Breathing easy. Chest gently rising and falling in a rythmic way with each breath. Yukiko was quiet like that for a few seconds before adjusting her head so it was right above the mafia boss's heart so the steady pulse in her ear telling her everything was alright as things should be beat in her ears. The Nakahara-Dazai tugged on the detective's arm curling up tighter with it, while lacing her own fingers with the dark haired man's. Temple immedietly disappearing at the skin to skin contact acting as a oddly soothing balm to the currently shaken teen's nerves. Her ability came second to her parents both of to whom she was clinging. "Papa.", the fifteen year old said saying each part of the word with diliberate pointed care while speaking in a strained voice, "You're not Arahabaki. You know that right?"

The two members of Double Black shared a silent look with each other. A silent look that was really more of an entire rapid fire silent conversation between the two of them...Dazai looking at his partner with amused, yet warm, affectionate brown. The detective silently gloating that he was right all a long to the gravity manipulator. Chūya scowling in warning in return while leaning back against the headboard of the bed with a sigh of exasperation and exhaustion mingled together. Leaning down to place a soft kiss on the head of hair that was just like his own, "Yeah. Yeah I do kid."

"And no more secrets either. I get you have your secrets between each other and stuff, I do.", added Yukiko turning her eyes upwards so that they met their mirrior images, "But you have a daughter now." The young copper haired ability user turned her head to the side to glance at Dazai, "We're family. We shouldn't have secrets."

"Alright no more secrets but relax Chibi, everything is going to be alright now. We're here. Just sleep now.", the Armed Detective Agency investigator spoke brushing a few loose strands of brilliant colored haired.

A weak exhausted grin pulled at the corners of Yukiko's. Settling down sandwiched between her parent's warmth bright blue eyes closed as the teen snuggled into Chūya's chest. The sound of her father's heartbeat lulling her into a state of relaxation. As did the feeling of her dad's breath gently blowing the top of her locks and his soft amused chuckle tickling her ear. "I love you two.", the fifteen year old breathed in a voice so thick with sleep that it was almost not coherant.

The copper haired man who looked just as much the part of a mummy as his partner did at the moment added sharply, "Sleep Chibi. Thats an order. If theres going to be no more secrets between us, your idiot dad and me need the sleep to explain everything. Its a long story." Chūya didn't even bother opening his eyes but backed up his partner's suggestion with a firm command just the same.

Yukiko wanted to say that she didn't need an order to sleep when her eyes were already plenty heavy with it from stress alone. Even as her father gave the order her eyes were falling shut with all three types of exhaustion. Her body already feeling like a lead weight snuggled between both her parents. Happy. Warm. Loved. Safe normality. Yukiko happily gave into the dark in no time at all as she lay there curled up with her idiotic parents. An explanation could wait a little longer after all, it wasn't like the young Nakahara-Dazai was allowing either man to get away with this.

**"Mine has been a life of much shame. I can't even guess myself what it must be to live the life of a human being.**

**-Osamu Dazai, 1909-1948**

**No Longer Human**


End file.
